


The Day of Reckoning

by aquariuslover



Series: Expectations! [19]
Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, Infinite (Band), Super Junior, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Best Friends, Guardians of Forever, Heavy Angst, Joongs, Lovers Lost, M/M, When History Plays Out, broken bonds, dying with dignity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-02 19:42:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16311494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquariuslover/pseuds/aquariuslover
Summary: Yunho and Jaejoong’s worst fears become reality as Changmin’s past becomes their now.





	1. Soul Destroyer

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Amy and my wonderful beta Tahoeturquoise!

Once upon a time she had smiled every day.

 

Like all children who are cherished deeply, she knew very little of fear; but a cruel fate had claimed her parents and taught her more than anyone ever needed to know of the ruthlessness of man.

 

She had existed, broken and battered, at the mercy of one without compassion. 

 

She had forgotten how to smile.

 

Then destiny intervened and her prince appeared.

 

The prince of her dreams; injured, bleeding and dying on the floor.  

 

She had thought she had nothing left to give; she had thought she had lost all the pieces of herself, but with a gentle kiss to the hand their fates had been intertwined.

 

With him she had found her joy…she had found her smile. 

 

Until he too had been taken from her.

 

Sulli stood on the beach of a planet that owed its peace to her long dead parents.  A planet that had lost its own shining prince to the bleakness of space.  She stared out at the ocean, holding her cat.  The waters of the ocean were blue, but not the blue that haunted her dreams.

 

“No, not yet,” she whispered, repeating words she had heard in a vision once.

 

 

                                                                ********************

 

 

“INTRUDER ALERT!  INTRUDER ALERT!  INTRUDER IN SICKBAY!” 

 

Commander Cho burst onto the bridge from the Captain’s Ready Room where he had been talking with his spouse. “Report!”

 

“Sir, we are not sure what is going on,” Lieutenant Kim, who had rushed to the unmanned science station, answered as he activated the controls and a vacant sickbay appeared on the main screen for all the bridge crew to see.

 

“Computer, where is the captain?”  Commander Cho demanded as he sat down in the captain’s chair.

 

“Captain Yunho is no longer aboard the Starship Expectations,” came the brisk, impersonal and efficient reply of the ship’s computer.

 

Ryeowook, who had followed Kyuhyun out onto the bridge, stated, “It could be possible that he underwent another change and the computer doesn’t recognize him as the captain.”

 

“We will soon find out what happened,” Lieutenant Kim announced as he had the computer play back what had occurred in sickbay prior to the alarms going off.

 

Lieutenant Sooyoung entered the bridge and watched the bridge screen with wide eyes as the captain’s abduction played out for them all to see.

 

“No!”  Kyuhyun gasped. 

 

The bridge crew watched in stunned disbelief as they watched Commander Leeteuk, still controlled by the ancient entity, appear and then disappear with the captain.

 

“He was still out there…” an astonished Ensign Eunhyuk sputtered. 

 

“Yes,” Lieutenant Sooyoung replied as she relieved Lieutenant Kim from her position at the science station.  “It was out there just waiting for its chance, but now we must find the captain.”

 

“Agreed,” Commander Cho responded as he hit his combadge.  “Jaejoong, are you there?  What do you know?”

 

“Abus Zar,” Jaejoong quickly replied in a weak voice.  “It was a trap…it was always a trap, and now he has Yunho on Abus Zar.”

 

Commander Cho turned to Ryeowook and ordered, “Go to him.  Find out what else he knows.”

 

Dr. Cho nodded his head and began to take off for the lift when Commander Cho added, “I want Lieutenant Kim to go with you.”

 

 “But Jaejoong will be more comfortable with me,” an incredulous Dr. Cho said as he swung around to look at his husband, surprised by his orders.  “Why send him with me?” 

 

“Because he will not let sentiment sway him from asking the right questions,” Commander Cho stated.  “Nothing must stop us from saving the captain.”

 

“Understood, Sir,” Lieutenant Kim replied as he headed toward the lift.

 

 

                                                           ****************************

 

Yunho felt unusually weak.

 

He found himself on the rocky surface of a mountain. 

 

 The view was magnificent, but the ground was devoid of any vegetation and he could hear the wind howling past him.  

 

He was trapped inside a sphere-shaped force field that glowed at times—lit from within by its own power and no matter how hard he pounded against it, it wouldn’t budge.

 

“Escape is impossible,” the imposter hissed as he knelt in front of the cage, holding his head.  “You can’t imagine my joy when I discovered the _Animam Tuam Praedo_ centurie _s_ ago on this planet.  I knew a time would come when I could make use it.”  

 

“Well, I’m not impressed by your big bubble.”

 

“ _Big bubble_ ,” the imposter hissed.  “You are an idiot.”

 

Yunho watched as blood started dripping from the imposter’s nose and eyes.  “You are not looking too good.  Do you have a headache by any chance?”

 

The imposer seethed with hatred, “I miscalculated…I was too eager…he was too powerful.”

 

“Yeah, he’s pretty powerful,” Yunho replied with a big grin, trying his best to act unbothered by the weakness he felt.

 

“But he won’t save you,” the imposter explained as he slumped against the force field and slid to the ground, unable to stand any longer.  “I will be lost for another millennia, but they won’t be able to save you.”

 

Yunho’s gaze narrowed.  “I think my ship can handle this big bubble.”

 

The imposter who’s breathing had become increasingly labored let out a small bitter laugh and warned, “I assure you it won’t be able to…you are already dead; you just don’t know it yet.  The _Animam Tuam Praedo_ can only be deactivated by the one who activates it.”

 

“We can cut through this!  We can find its power source.”

 

“No, you primitive minded idiot...its power source is the universe!” the imposter hissed hatefully as he clutched his head with both hands.  “A more advanced race than yours tried and failed for centuries before…your mate…he will know…he will know what it is…he will know you are both doomed.  Like your poor Commander Leeteuk.”

 

“Leeteuk,” Yunho whispered, taken aback by the imposter’s words; realizing it wasn’t just the imposter who would soon be dying.   The true Commander Leeteuk, who was innocent of all the crimes the imposter had committed, would also be doomed.  Yunho felt a wave of guilt as he realized how little consideration he had given the man who had been nothing more than the entity’s puppet.

 

“I will soon be cast out of this body.”

 

“Damn you,” Yunho cursed.  “You destroyed him.”

 

“True; the body was deteriorating and would not have been able to sustain me much longer, but it was your mate who finished him off,” the imposter clarified before letting out a loud gasp.

 

“No!” Yunho cried out as he watched blood seep from Leeteuk’s eyes, ears, and nose.  Yunho knelt beside the dying commander but he was unable to touch him.  “Commander Leeteuk, if you are still in there, I am so sorry this happened to you.  I’m so sorry.”

 

The body of Commander Leeteuk took a few more tortured gasps of breath and stopped.

 

Yunho closed his eyes and prayed for the soul of Commander Leeteuk, who had lost so much of his dignity and known so much suffering in this galaxy so far away from Earth.

 

 

                                                *****************************

 

 

Kangin leaned against the shuttle as he listened to Lieutenant Sunggyu grumbling incoherently.  The lieutenant had removed the panels underneath the shuttle and was buried knee deep in its engines.

 

“Hey,” Ensign Minho called out from inside the shuttle.  “We have power.”

 

“How much?”  Lieutenant Sunggyu shouted back at the ensign.

 

Minho stepped out of the shuttle and replied, “Less than 10%.”

 

“Gawwwdddddddddaaaammmmfuuuuuuccck.” 

 

Kangin looked down at the young lieutenant’s feet. “What was that?”

 

Woohyun, who had just strolled up carrying a basket of fruit that looked very similar to the peaches on Earth, answered, “That’s an engineering expletive.  It means he’s not happy.”

 

“Come to think of it, I think I have heard that before from another engineer,” Kangin replied with a grin.  “Once or twice…or a hundred billion times before.”

 

“It should be working!”  Lieutenant Sunggyu declared, while still buried knee deep in the engines.  “We know the location of a Guardian, but we can’t get there because these engines refuse to fucking cooperate!”

 

Woohyun winced.  “The Guardian isn’t going anywhere.  We were just lucky that its existence in a nearby solar system is common knowledge on this planet.”

 

“True, we are really lucky,” Kangin agreed while grinning.  “Unfortunately, we are also really unlucky.”

 

“Dr. Nam, were you able to heal their burns?”  Ensign Minho asked in an attempt to change the topic to a more pleasing subject.

 

“I was able to heal the mom and dad’s but Jimin’s were way too severe,” Dr. Nam stated.  “We will have to take him back to the ship to heal him properly.”

 

Kangin nodded his head.   “They did look terrible.  Poor kid.”

 

Minho looked at the basket Woohyun was carrying.  “Did they give that to you?”

 

Woohyun handed both Kangin and Minho one of the fruits.  “They did, and they are delicious.  Don’t worry; I scanned them and they are safe for consumption.”

 

Kangin took a big bite out of the fruit the doctor had handed him.  “Where is the kid?”

 

“Oh, he went on a stroll with Jimin,” Woohyun stated as he leaned against the shuttle next to Kangin.  “Those two seem to get along wonderfully.”

 

Kangin and Minho shared a worried glance with each other.

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu quickly removed himself from the shuttle’s engines and stood up, looking none too happy.   “You were supposed to stay with him!”

 

“Why?”  Woohyun asked, unbothered by the glare he was getting from the already irate lieutenant.  “It is pleasant enough here, and Jimin is a little doll.  He wanted to show JK around.  I don’t see anything wrong with it.  What’s the harm?”

 

Sunggyu turned red.  “I ordered that you stay together!  It is Starfleet protocol!  You do not isolate your team members!”

 

Woohyun shrugged.  “Like I said, Jimin is harmless.”

 

Sunggyu inhaled a deep breath and slowly exhaled before responding, “Yes, but the planet is teaming with Joong hunters!  Look what they did to this farm!  They live in their barn because their house was destroyed!  Not to mention what they did to their faces!”

 

Woohyun’s nonchalant expression fell away.  “Oh, that does make sense…I don’t know what I was thinking.”

 

“Ensign Kangin, go with Doctor Nam to retrieve our very young and inexperienced ensign, and if Dr. Nam makes anymore idiotic decisions you have my permission to stun him!”  Lieutenant Sunggyu snapped as he returned to working on the engines.  “Then I want you three to focus on finding the location of the shield’s power source.  Ensign Minho and I will get this shuttle working and then we are going to deactivate the shield.”

 

                                                                   ************************

 

 

Dr. Cho and Lieutenant Kim arrived at the captain’s quarters to find the door unlocked.  They entered to discover Changmin alone in the living room.  The toddler was sitting on the floor by the wall that held the huge aquarium, playing with building blocks.

 

“I believe he is constructing a ladder, so he can climb up to the aquarium,” Lieutenant Kim stated, admiring the toddler’s ingenuity.

 

“Jaejoong has often complained about Changmin’s fascination regarding the fish.”

 

Changmin looked up at them, surprised by their arrival.  He stood up, pointed accusingly at Dr. Cho and quickly scurried off while chanting, “Jaejoong!  Jaejoong!  Jaejoong!”

 

Lieutenant Kim turned to give the doctor a quizzical look.

 

“Jaejoong says he doesn’t like my loud emotions.”

 

“Doesn’t that necklace prevent him from feeling your emotions?”  The lieutenant asked, pointing to the pink necklace that was still around Ryeowook’s neck.

 

“Dammit!  It does!  I am starting to think he is just messing with me.”

 

The lieutenant couldn’t help but grin as they followed the energetic child, who was heading in the direction of his parent’s bedroom.  They soon found Jaejoong sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall with his legs outstretched in front of him and his arms wrapped loosely around Changmin. 

 

The Joong looked pale and weak.

 

Ryeowook knelt in front of Jaejoong, not liking the look on his friend’s face.  “Is Yunho hurt?”

 

Jaejoong looked at the doctor with eyes that had lost their luster.  “No, but he will be soon.  It is the distance between us that is draining me of my strength currently.   We have never been this far apart before.”

 

Lieutenant Kim quickly hit his combadge. “Commander Cho, if there is a way to speed up our arrival to Abus Zar it would be prudent.   The distance between the bond mates is taxing the Joong and I can only imagine what it is doing to the captain.”

 

“I will notify Commander Yoochun,” Commander Cho stated.  “If there is a way he will find it.”

 

“What did you mean the captain will soon be hurt?”  Ryeowook asked as he watched Changmin lean into Jaejoong with big worried blue eyes.

 

“He…he planned all of this,” Jaejoong cried out bitterly.  “The one that possessed Heechul…he is why Yunho was changing…he infected him…he was making the perfect vessel for them…a vessel Changmin or I would never harm.”

 

“He took the captain, so he could steal his body,” Lieutenant Kim quickly surmised.

 

Jaejoong’s expression darkened.  “I got him though…I only got a glimpse of his mind, but I got him.  I unleashed all my power to crush him…but the entity inside Leeteuk is strong.”

 

“But he did look hurt,” Ryeowook explained.  “We played back what happened in sickbay and the imposter looked hurt.  He was holding his head.”

 

“But he was still able to transport the captain,” Lieutenant Kim pointed out.  “What else were you able find out from reading the imposter’s mind?”

 

Jaejoong ignored the lieutenant and hugged Changmin tightly.  “He was hurt…then there is a chance for us.”

 

“A chance for what?”  Ryeowook asked.

 

“That this isn’t our end,” Jaejoong told Ryeowook, but remained tearful.  “Maybe I don’t have to break Changmin.  Maybe Yunho and I don’t have to die.  If the imposter loses control of Leeteuk’s body before he can get the _Animam Tuam Praedo_ activated…we have a chance.”

 

An alarmed Lieutenant Kim, who quickly translated the words, asked, “What is a soul destroyer?”

 

Jaejoong wiped tears from his eyes and explained, “It is ancient device of torture for bonded Joongs…it was created by evil Joongs thousands of years ago….it crushes the soul of the captured Joong.   It is a slow and painful death…for the Joong and their bond mate.  The _Animam Tuam Praedo_ is indestructible.”

 

Ryeowook gasped and covered his mouth.

 

Lieutenant Kim looked perplexed and questioned, “But why kill him?  I thought he wanted to take control of the captain’s body.”

 

“The imposter is powerful and…he is of ancient times…he is in control of the _Animam Tuam Praedo_ and thinks he can remove Yunho from the soul crusher when his mind is damaged enough for him to take control of it, but Yunho’s body is still salvageable.”

 

“That makes no sense,” Lieutenant Kim stated, causing Ryeowook to glare at him.  “The captain’s body would still be bonded to you.  Does he intend to take you along with him on his journeys?”

 

Jaejoong looked up at the lieutenant.  “If he takes control of Yunho’s body…I will have to go to Joong immediately.   Even though Yunho’s _soul and personality_ will be suppressed, I will still be bonded to Yunho’s body.  I cannot risk fighting him…and killing him, not when he is in Yunho’s body, and not when Changmin is so young and dependent on me.”

 

“But you stated earlier that the distance was taxing you…would you not suffer from the proximity limitations on Joong?”  the lieutenant asked curiously.

 

“No, not on Joong.  The Guardians on my home world protects Joongs from the side effects created from distance,” Jaejoong explained as he got up.  “The Guardians on Joong can transport a Joong anywhere at any time-so in essence there is no distance.”

 

“We just have to get there before Yunho is placed in the soul destroyer,” Ryeowook stated, full of optimism.  “We can do it.”

 

Jaejoong, who suddenly looked stronger, bent down, picked up Changmin and smiled at the doctor.  “We can, and now that Commander Yoochun has the ship going at warp 9.5 I will soon melt that body snatcher’s brain into a pile of mush.”

 

“Warp 9.5,” Lieutenant Kim repeated in awe, while reaching out and feeling the bulkhead.  He could feel the power of the ship vibrating through the walls. 

 

“Good job, Yoochun!”  Ryeowook exclaimed, unable to keep his positivity under control as he followed Jaejoong out of the cabin.

 

“Indeed,” Lieutenant Kim stated, impressed, as he followed the other two men out into the corridor.  “That the engineer would allow his engines to be burdened to this extent is a true testament of his friendship with the captain.”

 

“Yoochun has many faults, but his friendship with Yunho is genuine and unfaltering,” Jaejoong proclaimed as he headed down the corridor.  

 

“Lieutenant Kim, we will be approaching Abus Zar in approximately 5 minutes,” Commander Cho stated over the comm link.

 

“Understood,” Lieutenant Kim replied.  “I believe Jaejoong is on his way to the transporter room as we speak…he intends to have it out with the imposter.”

 

“I wish him luck,” Commander Cho replied.  “I will have a full security detail meet you there.”

 

When they reached the transporter room they found the security detail already there and lead by Lieutenant Yuri, along with Dr. Jin.  Jaejoong walked up to Dr. Jin, handed Changmin to him and stated, “The distance should not bother him as long as the ship stays in the orbit of the planet, but he might be cranky.”

 

Dr. Jin took the child.  “He doesn’t like being away from you.”

 

“No,” Jaejoong agreed.  “But he doesn’t need to see this.  I have been blocking everything from him, but Yunho has to be the priority once I get there.”

 

“Understood,” the doctor replied as they all watched Jaejoong get on the transporter pad. 

 

When Lieutenant Kim moved to go stand on the transporter pad also, Jaejoong held up his hand and halted the lieutenant.  “No, you need to find out what Lieutenant Sooyoung knows.  It is no coincidence she saw Yunho immediately before the imposter showed up.  She upset him…find out why, or when I get back I will find a way through her mental shields…and she won’t like it.”

 

Lieutenant Kim stood back and before he could reply the transporter took affect and beamed Jaejoong away.

 

 

                                                         ***********************************

 

 

Yunho felt him before he saw him.

 

Felt the power of their great bond even from orbit.

 

Yunho did not have to wait long before the Joong appeared and just as quickly he felt the other man’s devastation as he took in the force field that Yunho was trapped in.

 

“Don’t start,” Yunho called out.  “I don’t care if they say this big bubble is indestructible, because that was the past and we are the now.  My ship and crew can handle this.”

 

Jaejoong stumbled to the edge of the force field and collapsed beside it; he looked up at Yunho not bothering to hide his horror.  “Yunho…the time has come.”

 

“No!”

 

“I don’t want it to be true,” Jaejoong cried out.  “But there is no way out of there!”

 

“Stop it,” Yunho ordered and looked past Jaejoong to Lieutenant Yuri.  “Lieutenant Yuri, the imposter is dead…or was forced to leave Commander Leeteuk’s body.”

 

“It’s gone,” Jaejoong whispered as he looked at the dead commander.  “And so is your Commander Leeteuk…the real one.”

 

Yunho sighed, having already determined the commander was lost.  “He’s no longer a puppet for that monster’s amusement. Hopefully he’s at peace now.”

 

Lieutenant Yuri ran her scanner over the commander and looked to the captain, “What are your orders, Sir?”

 

“I want Commander Yoochun and Lieutenant Sooyoung down here, immediately!” Yunho commanded.  “We have got to figure out a way to break this damn bubble.  I also want Commander Leeteuk’s body transported back to the ship, so we can give him a proper burial in space…or maybe even return his body to his family on Earth.  We will have to see what his wishes were.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Lieutenant Yuri replied and then stepped aside to contact Commander Cho.

 

_“It isn’t a bubble!  It isn’t something we can pop and then just go on our merry way!  It will crush your soul and then it will kill your body…and I can’t heal you if I can’t touch you!”_

 

“I can heal myself for the time being,” Yunho stated confidently aloud for the others to hear.  “I feel fine.  I admit for a while there I was feeling weak, but you showed up and now I feel great.”

 

“It was the distance between us that made you feel badly, but I assure you that is nothing compared to what you will feel.”

 

“Jaejoong, stop being so damn negative,” Yunho snapped.  “You sound like you want me to die!”

 

The Joong got up and glared at his mate.  “How can you say that!  Your death means my death!  I am just being realistic!  Do you think I want you to die?  I love you more than life itself!  Do you think I want to break my bond with Changmin?”

 

“No, I don’t think you want any of that,” Yunho told him.  “So stop being so negative and have a little faith in me!”

 

“You are stuck in an indestructible cage that is slowly destroying you!   What can you do?” 

 

“I will think of something!” Yunho assured his mate.  “This isn’t the end.  I won’t let it be.”

 

 

                                                                    ********************

 

Lieutenant Sooyoung entered the captain’s ready room to find Commander Cho and Lieutenant Kim waiting on her.   Commander Cho was sitting behind the desk and Lieutenant Kim was sitting in one of the two chairs placed in front of the desk. 

 

“Commander Cho,” she stated upon entering the room.  “Lieutenant Kim.”

 

“Take a seat, Lieutenant Sooyoung,” Commander Cho instructed, while pointing at the unoccupied chair.  “We need to get you down to the planet and working on solving the problem at hand, but we have to ask you a few questions first.”

 

She nodded her head and took the offered seat.  “Go ahead.”

 

“Jaejoong voiced concerns that you had upset the captain,” Commander Cho explained.  “We replayed your conversation with the captain and found his statement to be true.  Your behavior in Sickbay with the captain was very unlike you.”

 

“Jaejoong has also threatened to bypass your shields at any cost if you do not tell us what is going on,” Lieutenant Kim added.

 

“It was not my intention to upset the captain,” Sooyoung replied, her hands in her lap.  “I’ve just been keeping a very big secret and it has been weighing on me.  I have been monitoring Changmin’s growth and my calculations indicated that the time for transporting him back in time was nearing.”

 

Commander Cho leaned forward, intrigued.  “A big secret?” 

 

“Before Lieutenant Jung disappeared on the planet Eternity he gave me strict orders to follow,” Lieutenant Sooyoung explained.  “The first order was that Jaejoong must never know.”

 

“Go on.”

 

“He was very rushed at the time and was not his usual highly detailed self,” Sooyoung elaborated.  “He knew he would soon be lost to time.  He informed me that an older version of himself had visited him.”

 

Commander Cho looked stunned.  “Are you saying a Changmin from the future…visited our _Lieutenant Changmin?_ ”  

 

“Yes, and therefore Changmin said Jaejoong could not know under any circumstances.  He said the future version warned him that Jaejoong would intervene if he thought the timeline had been tampered with.  The future version of Changmin was in his Joong form and warned _our version of Changmin_ that this day would come and told him of a way to save the captain.”

 

“That’s amazing,” Lieutenant Kim said, looking awed by the news.

 

Lieutenant Sooyoung nodded her head.  “The future version of Changmin altered our Changmin’s memory, so he would have no memory of their encounter until moments before his conception.  This older version of Changmin did not trust Jaejoong not to read his son’s mind.”

 

“You know how to save the captain?”  Commander Cho asked, looking very hopeful.  “That is wonderful!”

 

Lieutenant Sooyoung shook her head.  “I don’t.  He didn’t have time to explain everything to me…before he vanished.  He just gave me a list of materials I needed to collect.  Some we had on board the ship and others I have collected from the planets we have visited.”

 

“I want a list of those materials,” Commander Cho stated as he stood up.  “Most importantly, I want you and your brain down on the planet with Commander Yoochun.  There must be a way to save the captain…Changmin would have made sure of it.”

 

 

                                            

                                                ********************************

 

 

The yellow sun of Orden was shining brightly down on him.

 

Ensign Jungkook sat on top of a large bale of hay, his eyes closed, his legs dangling over the edge and his arms stretched out behind him, propping him up.  His head was tilted back as he enjoyed the full warmth of the sun.

 

He was in the middle of large pasture where there were hundreds of similar bales of hay.

 

The barn, the burnt down house, and the shuttle could be seen in the distance.

 

“You don’t like burns…do you?”  Jimin asked from beside the young ensign where he also sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the hay bale.

 

“No…could you tell?”

 

“Yeah,” Jimin answered while watching the other boy closely.  “You just looked squeamish.  Do my burns not bother you?”

 

“No, not really…I’ve seen a lot worse,” Jungkook admitted without opening his eyes.  “Yours don’t seem bad to me…I don’t know why Dr. Nam can’t heal them like he could heal your parents’ wounds and scars.  Yours aren’t nearly as bad as theirs were.”

 

Jimin leaned back mimicking the other boy’s position.  “My scars go deep.”

 

“That makes sense, because sometimes the deepest wounds are the ones nobody can see.”

 

“Do you have scars like that?”

 

“Yes,” Jungkook answered, surprised by his own honesty.  “My parents were murdered when I was young…and I witnessed it.  I don’t think scars like that can ever really be completely healed.”

 

Jimin, whose eyes were now filled with tears, suddenly sat up, reached out and took the other boy’s hand.  “I’m sorry for making you think of such things.”

 

Jungkook, who was startled by the other boy’s touch, jerked his hand away and sat back up.  “I don’t know why I even told you that.  I rarely talk about it…even with my brother, but it isn’t like I’m damaged.  I accept what happened and I know there wasn’t anything I could have done to stop it...I was just a kid.  It’s sad and it’s terrible, but life has to go on.”

 

Jimin, who was trying his best to wipe away his tears, agreed, “Yes, life must go on.”

 

“Why are you so sad?”

 

The other boy sniffled.  “I’m a big baby.”

 

“There isn’t any—” A large boom in the distance interrupted Jungkook.  They both watched as a huge plume of smoke appeared in the distant sky.

 

Jungkook frowned.  “They are still looking for it.”

 

“And destroying so many lives,” a still tearful Jimin stated looking heartbroken.  “Why can’t they just leave this planet alone?”

 

“Because they are bad,” Jungkook stated bluntly as he jumped down from the hay bale. 

 

“It’s for greed, mostly,” Jimin added, answering his own question.  “Most of them just want to sell the Joong to the highest bidder.”  


Jungkook, who was pacing in front of the hay bale, declared, “It’s all so stupid and such a waste.  The Joong on our ship isn’t even that beautiful.  He just looks like a regular dude to me, maybe a little fancier.”

 

“He’s bonded to your captain, so he wouldn’t look like an unbonded Joong.”

 

“But still, it isn’t worth it,” Jungkook insisted, not bothering to hide his disgust.  “If they bond with you…you are stuck with them forever.  Great sex isn’t worth giving up your free will.”

 

Jimin wiped away his tears and laughed.  “There is more to being bonded to a Joong than great sex.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“They can also heal you.”

 

“My brother is a Starfleet doctor; he can heal me.”

 

“They also give you unconditional love that never wanes,” Jimin explained as he smiled down at the other boy.  “Love that is forever and unchanging.”

 

Jungkook stopped, looked up at Jimin, and didn’t look impressed in the slightest.  “Again, my brother loves me unconditionally and there isn’t anything I could do that would ever change that.”

 

“You are blessed to have such a brother in your life; some people aren’t so lucky.”

 

“I know,” Jungkook replied, still watching the other dark-haired boy as the breeze caught his hair.  He felt breathless for a moment as he gazed up at Jimin, who suddenly seemed like the most beautiful person in the world.

 

“You are very handsome,” Jimin stated, derailing Jungkook’s line of thought.  “If the hunters found you, they would definitely think you were a Joong.”

 

“I’m handsome,” the ensign agreed, while thinking Jimin’s scars suddenly looked worse.  “But I am not beautiful.  Aren’t unbonded Joongs supposed to be beautiful?”

 

“To some, perhaps.”

 

Jungkook quickly realized the sunlight must have been in his eyes because Jimin was far from beautiful.  “I still don’t see the appeal of being bonded to a Joong.  They say the one on the ship is really bossy.”

 

Jimin laughed.  “Well, you said he was a prince.  I would assume princes are bossy, but still I bet your Captain Yunho loves him a lot.”

 

“I suppose, but did he have a choice?  I don’t claim to be any expert on romantic love, but I don’t think it should be as easy as a magical bond.  I think the struggle to make something last is what makes it real and something to be cherished.”

 

“I am sure lots of Joongs would disagree with you,” an amused Jimin told the young ensign as he looked off toward the shuttle.

 

Jungkook shrugged and retorted, “They would probably just mess with my head until I agreed with them.”

 

“Maybe, but I don’t think all Joongs would,” Jimin replied and pointed toward Dr. Nam and Ensign Kangin, who were approaching them.  “Your crew is coming for you.”

 

Jungkook rushed off to greet them, causing Jimin to gracefully jump off the hay bale and chase after him.

 

“Sir,” Jungkook called out.  “Is anything wrong?  Do we have new orders?”

 

“Lieutenant Sunggyu is being his normal grumpy self and is all testy about you being separated from the group.  We’ve come to fetch you,” Dr. Nam explained as he approached the boys.

 

Jungkook reddened.  “He’s mad?”

 

“Yeah,” Ensign Kangin answered.  “But mostly at Dr. Nam for allowing it.”

 

Dr. Nam looked annoyed as he huffed, “I think sometimes people forget that I’ve never actually been to Starfleet Academy.”

 

“I _have_ been, though,” Jungkook replied.  “I just got out of the academy.  This is my first assignment.  I should have known better.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Kangin told the younger ensign.  “Dr. Nam wears the blue uniform so that means he passed the necessary requirements and he’s gone on plenty of away missions.  He knows better.”

 

Woohyun patted Ensign Jungkook on the back.  “It’s true.  I do know better.  I don’t know what came over me.  It seemed like a great idea at the time.”

 

“It did,” Jungkook agreed.  “I don’t know what we were thinking.”

 

“JK, don’t worry about it,” Woohyun told him.  “The lieutenant is way too busy being annoyed at me to scold you.  I got this.”

 

Jimin followed silently behind them.

 

 

                                                                                              ***********************

 

 

“Tungsten, iridium, chromium, osmium, diamond, and four other elements I didn’t even know existed,” Yoochun, who had a large amount of equipment surrounding him, along with five members respectively of the science and engineering departments, ranted.  “What the fucking hell?  How are these substances supposed to get you out of this fucking contraption?”

 

Yunho, who was leaning against the force field, rubbed his face and avoided looking at the frustrated engineer. “I don’t know but there must be a way.”

 

“Well, we have tried over 700 different combinations and none of them are putting a dent in the blasted thing,” Yoochun replied looking like he wanted to throw something… _anything_.  “Ten photon torpedoes couldn’t put a dent in it.”

 

Jaejoong, who was leaning against the cage Yunho was trapped in, snorted, “Well, at least you all stopped calling it a bubble.”

 

“Because it isn’t one bit funny anymore,” Yoochun hissed while looking at the force field with pure hatred.   When Yoochun had first laid eyes on the cage Yunho was trapped in he had laughed.  He had wrongly assumed it would be easily dismantled by the Expectation’s superior technology.  “I hope whoever devised this thing is burning in hell after suffering a long and agonizing death.”

 

“I am sure they are long dead,” Yunho replied.

 

“The _universe_ is its power source,” Yoochun complained.  “What the fuck?  How is that even possible?!”

 

“Lieutenant Sooyoung,” Yunho called out to the science officer, who was working alongside Yoochun.  “Any progress?”

 

“Not yet, but we are still working on it,” she told the captain.  “We won’t give up, Sir!”

 

Yunho, who had been trapped inside the force field for over four hours, looked down at Jaejoong.  “You should go check on Changmin.”

 

“No.”

 

“It’s not like I am going anywhere.”

 

“I can’t leave.”

 

“You need to see him…he will cheer you up.”

 

“Nothing but a miracle is going to cheer me up.”

 

“It would make me feel better knowing you two were together.”

 

“You are getting weaker by the minute…do you really want me to leave?”

 

“No, but I don’t want him to be alone.”

 

 _“I am with him even now,”_ Jaejoong assured his mate telepathically _.  “He’s fussy, but he’s fine.”_

 

_“I wish he could be with us…but I don’t want him to feel all this…”_

 

 _“Despair,”_ Jaejoong finished. 

 

_“Stop…”_

_“I wish you didn’t have to feel it…the fear they feel.  The fear that they won’t be able to save you.”_

_“Stop…”_

_“It is a bitter irony that now of all times you are an empath.”_

 

“Unlike you,” Yunho told his mate verbally, “I am not focusing on the despair.  I am focusing on the hope.  There is hope!  Changmin came back in time to save us!”

 

“At that age he should have known better than to break the laws of Joong.”

 

“I can’t believe you!”

 

“I’m not saying he was wrong.  I just wish it had worked.”

 

“It will work!”

 

“With every fiber of my being I pray you are right, but time is not something to be fooled with—why are you suddenly sad?”

 

Yunho leaned his head against the force field _.  “He was old when he came back…I wonder how long he searched for a way to save us.  I hope he didn’t waste his whole life…I hope he found love.  I hope he found happiness.  I hope he had kids.”_

 

Jaejoong closed his eyes.  _“I think you are confusing our sweet bundle of joy with grown up Changmin…his love and happiness came from expanding his knowledge.”_

 

_“What about Sulli?”_

_“He is not bonded to her.”_

_“He cared for her.”_

 

_“In his Joong form he was very fond of her…so maybe in that form he did find happiness.  That woman did report that the Changmin that came back in time was in his Joong form.”_

_“He cared for her in both forms.  He wasn’t a robot in his human body…he felt deeply, maybe too deeply.  You knew that once!”_

_“I did, but I was only ever close to him while I was shifting…and shifting changes so many things for a Joong.”_

 

Yunho smiled.  _“I will never forget the first time you two hugged.  It was one of the greatest moments of my life.”_

 

Jaejoong looked up at Yunho adoringly.  _“Mine, too.”_

 

_“When we send him back…in time…the older version will return, won’t he?”_

_“I cannot be sure,”_ Jaejoong replied telepathically as he watched Yunho closely.  _“But in the words of our son, it does seem logical.”_

_“I wish we would have let him interact with the Guardians…I want to know if they will transport him.”_

 

_“They will…he is of Joong blood…of royal, ancient Joong blood.”_

_“Good…I want him to go and see Mom…if…if…hope isn’t enough.”_

 

Jaejoong didn’t reply, he just looked away to stare at the engineers and scientists that were battling against their own feelings of futility.  The puzzle of the _Animam Tuam Praedo_ continued to elude them, while Yunho grew weaker with each passing minute.


	2. I’ll See You in Another life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is just the ending of one chapter of a love story that never ends. We have countless new beginnings to come.”

“I just wish we could get communications on the shuttle up and running,” a concerned Kangin said as he flipped through the pages of the book he was holding.  “I can’t help but worry for Yunho.”

 

A thoughtful Woohyun looked up from his book to observe the security officer.  “You two have been friends for a long time, haven’t you?”

 

Kangin nodded his head.  “Yeah, for a really long time; he’s the best friend a man could ever ask for; not to mention the best man I’ve ever known.”

 

“He sounds like an awesome person,” Jimin said, while looking optimistic.  “Hopefully that part of your ship will start working soon.  I hope your friend is okay.”

 

Kangin gave the horribly scarred young man a grateful look.  “Thanks, kid.”

 

Ensign Kangin, along with Dr. Nam and Ensign Jungkook, were all sitting in the hayloft of the barn going through old books the family had managed to save from the destroyed house and books they had stored in their storm cellar.  They were hoping to find a clue to where the power source that fueled the shield was located.  Jimin was helping to translate the books when the universal translators failed due to the damage the books had incurred.

 

Jungkook, who was looking through the pages of a book, stopped when he noticed a bold script underneath a picture of a mysterious looking pyramid.  “What does this say?”

 

Jimin, who was sitting very close to Jungkook, wrapped his arm around the young ensign, leaned in, and told them all, “This is a picture of the Golden Pyramid.  It’s an ancient structure on this planet and legend says it can protect the world.”

 

Woohyun looked skeptical as he took the book from Jungkook and slowly started to make sense of the script on the page.  “What is this great weapon the book talks about?”  


“Nobody knows,” Jimin explained.  “Only the worthy can enter and nobody for a thousand years has made it in there without dying first.  The legends also say the Sun God used to reside inside of the Golden Pyramid.”

 

“How does it know if someone is worthy?”  Ensign Kangin asked.

 

Jimin, who snuggled in closer to Ensign Jungkook, explained.  “You have to solve a riddle.”

 

“This has to be the place,” Woohyun stated confidently as he pointed to the picture.  “The Snow God used to live at the one on Pixxel and there was a riddle!”

 

“It is deep in the jungle of one of the southern continents,” Jimin informed them.  “Legend says the Sun God left his pet snakes to guard the pyramid.”

 

“I’d rather go to a jungle full of snakes than to go back in that damn cellar,” Ensign Kangin, who was sitting between Dr. Nam and Ensign Jungkook, grumbled with a frown.  The cellar had been dry, but it had been dark and full of spiders. “I fucking hate spiders.”  


Jimin smiled at the security officer and reminded him, “Everything was much nicer in the cellar once you…stunted those spiders.”

 

“Stunned,” Jungkook stated, correcting Jimin while gently pushing away the other boy, who was invading his personal space.

 

The scarred boy just shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the young pilot adoringly. 

 

“I hate to say this, but we will need the lieutenant and Minho to look over this book to see if they come up with the same conclusion as we did,” Kangin told the other men.

 

The doctor scowled.  “We have just as much experience with these force fields as those two have.  The pyramid they are describing in this book is at a whole other level of technological advancement than this planet is capable of building.  It’s been off limits for centuries and the people who do try to enter end up dead.  It has to be where the power source is located.”

 

The security officer shook his head.  “I have been stuck under two of those damn force fields and I can’t tell you how they work, but those two can.  I agree it has to be the place, but I want them to confirm it for us.”

 

Woohyun reluctantly nodded his head in agreement and opened his mouth to respond but never got the chance when Lieutenant Sunggyu’s voice sounded over their combadges and asked, “Have you found out any pertinent information regarding the power source?”

 

Ensign Kangin answered, “We have found a promising lead.  We were just saying we want yours and Ensign Minho’s input on it.”

 

“We are going to have to go with your hunch, because Ensign Minho and I must focus all our efforts on getting the shuttle flying again.  Amazingly, communications just came back online and we were able to contact the Expectations.  Abus Zar was a trap.  The being controlling Commander Leeteuk has captured the captain and placed him in an impenetrable cage.  Commander Cho reports there is a very high chance the Captain Yunho and Jaejoong will die and the Guardian of Time will be needed to send their son back in time.”

 

 

                                                *************************************

 

On Abus Zar the crew continued to work valiantly to save the captain, without success.  Commander Yoochun stepped away from the struggling crew and came to a painful realization.  With a heavy heart he walked over to Dr. Cho, took the doctor’s hand and led him away from the others and asked in low voice, “How much longer does he have?” 

 

Dr. Cho, who was struggling against his own feelings of futility, told the engineer, “Hours maybe…I don’t even know how he is standing up and there is nothing I can do for him.”

 

Yoochun nodded his head in understanding, released his hold on the doctor and walked away from him, toward Yunho.  Jaejoong, who was sitting on the ground leaning against the force field looked up and met Yoochun’s gaze and then turned away. 

 

Yoochun paused for only a moment before approaching the cage. 

 

“Hey, I am going to go check out some things on the ship.  I will be right back,” Yoochun stated in a voice that sounded strong and confident.

 

Yunho gave his friend a weak nod. “Do what you have to do.”

 

Yoochun met Yunho’s gaze, silently cursed his friend’s new found empathy, and turned around before asking to be beamed back aboard the ship.

 

Yunho looked down at Jaejoong and realized it was time to be practical.  “If Yoochun has given up it’s time to make preparations.”

 

Jaejoong slowly stood, wiped the tears from his eyes and drew on all his strength.  “I know.”

 

“I still have hope, but I can’t risk Changmin’s life on hope alone.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I’m feeling really…really exhausted.  I have this terrible fear that if I sit down I’ll never get back up again.”

 

Jaejoong’s whole body shook.  _“My love...I am sorry.”_

_“For what?  For loving me more than any person ever deserved to be loved?”_

_“No, you deserved all of my love…and so much more.  You deserve a thousand lifetimes of love.”_

 

_“And I have that with you—you, my great timeless love.  This isn’t the end of our story.  We will always find each other.”_

 

_“In every life.”_

 

“Yes,” Yunho said aloud while forcing a smile on his face, not for his mate—because Jaejoong knew better than anyone how disheartened he felt, but for the crew that was watching him.  “This is just the ending of one chapter of a love story that never ends.  We have countless new beginnings to come.”

 

“And in our next life I hope we grow old together and die in our sleep.”

 

“That would be nice,” Yunho agreed as he lifted his hands up and placed them against the force field. 

 

Jaejoong pressed his hands against the force field over Yunho’s.  “You are my hero.”

 

“I’m just a man.”

 

“No, Captain Yunho; you are my great love and a noble hero.  The first day we met you were being your valiant self.  You didn’t know what a Joong was, but you came to my rescue.  You took on five Zusaders for someone you didn’t even know.”

 

“You needed help.”

 

“They could have easily killed you.”

 

“Those ugly sons of bitches weren’t going to be my end or yours.”

 

“You risked never seeing your ship or Changmin again to save me.”

 

Yunho grinned.  “It worked out alright.”

 

“I am so glad you got to feel the strength of my love for you…my endless love for you.”

 

“It was nice to feel it, but I always knew it was there.  I love you just as much and in the same way.”

 

“I know, and you and Changmin have been the greatest blessings I could ever ask for, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

_“I am so sorry for what you have to do_ ,” Yunho cried out mentally, dying a little inside at the thought of what severing the bond with Changmin would cost his great love _.  “I wish I could take your place…I wish I could take all your pain.”_

 

Jaejoong pulled away from the force field and covered his mouth with his hands.  _“I have to go, my love…before it is too late; Time is very cruel in the end.”_

_“I’ll see you in another life,”_ Yunho sent out telepathically to Jaejoong. 

_“Until the next life, then.”_

 

Yunho trembled with tears gliding down his cheeks as he tapped his combadge, but his voice was steady when he ordered, “Commander Cho, have Jaejoong beamed back to the ship.”

 

 

                                                                    **********************

 

 

When Commander Yoochun arrived on the bridge he shared a heated glare with Commander Cho and pointed toward the Captain’s Ready Room.

 

Kyuhyun immediately got up and followed the Chief Engineer.

 

Yoochun collapsed into Yunho’s chair behind the desk and looked up at the still standing Commander Cho.  “We can’t save him.  If I lived for a thousand years I don’t think I could put a dent in that force field.”

 

“But Changmin…”

 

“I guess he didn’t have time to tell her everything,” Yoochun explained, looking miserable.  “We have tried every combination, and nothing works.  “We have to get Changmin to a Guardian…so we can send him back in time to Yunho.  I can’t save my friend, but I going to make damn sure I save his son.”

 

Kyuhyun paled and braced himself against the desk.  “I don’t know if we can.”

 

Yoochun looked confused.  “Why not?  Lieutenant Sunggyu knows the location of a Guardian.  He did his part.”

 

“He did,” Commander Cho agreed.  “There has been a major accumulation of Ion storms in the last few hours, and we have to pass through that part of space…avoiding it would delay us by days.  Ensign L did a great job flying us here but there was minimal storm activity at that time.  I can’t risk the ship and all the lives aboard it…for one person.”

 

Yoochun gave Kyuhyun a deadly glare.  “I believe you were warned against such an occurrence happening by myself and few others.”

 

“I was.”

 

“But you chose to ignore our advice,” Yoochun spat out.  “You are a fucking idiot!  Did you even have to sit for the command classes or did your parents just wave their great arms of admiralty and have you magically passed?”

 

“I know you are hurting,” Commander Cho told the engineer, who looked on the verge of committing homicide.  “But you know that isn’t true, and the away team would very likely be dead if Ensign Jungkook had not been with them.”

 

Yoochun eyes narrowed.  “I highly doubt that.  Their landing might have been rough but, unlike you, Lieutenant Sunggyu would have found a way to survive.  He is going to make a great leader someday, and he’s already better than you.”

 

Commander Cho ignored Yoochun’s words and stated, “There is a way to save Changmin.”

 

Yoochun seethed.  “Fuck everyone who ever taught me how to feel and fuck you!”

 

“We use the stones,” Commander Cho continued evenly.  “Then we can switch Eunhyuk for Junsu…and Junsu, as you know, is a level seven pilot.  He can probably fly through an Ion storm with his eyes closed.”

 

“So Yunho gets to die…without Kangin, without me, without Changmin, and without Jaejoong,” Yoochun said bitterly as he stood up.  “What a wonderful way to die…lightyears away from everyone you love.    Not to mention he gets to die in an agonizingly painful way.  What a great reward for being one of the greatest men of our time.”

 

“I don’t know what—” Kyuhyun, who looked physically ill, stopped as the captain’s voice broke out over his combadge.  “Commander Cho, beam Jaejoong back to the ship.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Kyuhyun immediately replied, he then tapped his badge again.  “Lieutenant Donghae, it’s time to beam Jaejoong back to the ship.”

 

Lieutenant Donghae replied sadly, “Yes, Sir.”

 

Yoochun headed toward the door but stopped before exiting the Captain’s Ready Room.  “I just ask that you don’t use the stones until you have to.  I need to be there for him as long as I can be.”

 

Commander Cho nodded his head.  “I’ll wait until the very last moment.”

 

                                                          ************************

 

Yunho watched as Jaejoong disappeared and then he slowly descended to the ground.  Standing was a waste of strength, strength they would need to get Changmin to the Guardian on time.

 

“Captain,” Ryeowook, who had been silently watching the bond mates say goodbye, said gently as he knelt beside Yunho.  “I wish there was something I could do to help you.”

 

“You can go be with Jaejoong.  Once he breaks the bond with Changmin the ship must leave me behind immediately and speed to the Guardian.  We won’t have much time left.”

 

Ryeowook exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.  “I will be with him…and Changmin, but I wanted to say goodbye to you first and to thank you for everything you have done for me.”

 

“I didn’t do that much.”

 

“No, you did,” Ryeowook stated firmly.  “I will never forget the first time I met you.  I was being bullied and Yunho, the great star of the academy, came to my rescue.”

 

Yunho smiled faintly at Ryeowook as the old memory replayed in his mind of the day Professor Solok had sent out an SOS because Changmin had been irritating the Vulcan.  He had showed up with Yoochun and Kangin to find Ryeowook being bullied by some fellow cadets.  He had swiftly put an end to the bullying.  “I had forgotten about that.”

 

“I never did,” Ryeowook told him.  “The bullying completely stopped after you intervened and I think that day was the first time Kyuhyun saw me as a real person and not as some loser his mother forced on him.”

 

“You were never a loser.”

 

“No, but I needed help remembering that back then…and you helped me,” Ryeowook replied with tears gliding down his cheeks.  “You were so strong, but you never trampled on others to get what you wanted.  You were the brightest star in the universe back then and you still are.”

 

“You are too kind.”

 

“But not nearly as kind as you,” Ryeowook responded wiping his eyes, “I hate leaving you here…but I’m going to make sure Jaejoong makes it to the Guardian and Changmin gets sent back in time.”

 

“Thank you,” Yunho whispered.  “I don’t want to die…with my memories of growing up with Changmin erased from my mind and deleted from time.  I want to remember him both as my son and my little brother, right up until the very end.”

 

Ryeowook promised, “And you will.”

 

 

                                                                        **********************

 

 

“What are you doing here?”  Ryeowook asked as he stepped off the transporter platform after returning to the ship to find his husband behind the transporter controls.

 

“I sent Donghae down to the planet,” Kyuhyun explained.  “He wanted to say goodbye.  He’s known the captain for a very long time.”

 

“I just told Yunho goodbye and I feel like I need throw up.  It’s a terrible thing to see such a strong man so…” Ryeowook paused and shook his head as if to rid himself of the memory.  “At times like these I wish I was back on Baylor and my biggest concern was whether it was going to rain or not.”

 

“I wish I was there with you.”

 

“But…but we are here and there are things we have to do.”

 

“Jaejoong has Changmin with him in the captain’s quarters,” Kyuhyun replied.  “Dr. Jin is also in there.  Jaejoong says when he breaks the bond a doctor needs to be present in case he isn’t strong enough to heal Changmin from the trauma of breaking the bond.  Dr. Jin had me evacuate the area around the quarters.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Some of the crew members in that area were starting to feel unusually sad, betrayed, and some reported feeling pain.”

 

Ryeowook winced.  “Changmin’s creating an empathic wave.”

 

“That is what Dr. Jin told me.”

 

“I am going to relieve Jin,” Ryeowook told his husband, his voice breaking.  “I promised Yunho that I would make sure they made it to the Guardian.  I want you to send Jin down to the planet to be with Yunho.  I know there isn’t anything he can do—but just in case miracles do still exist I want him there.”

 

Commander Cho nodded his head and added, “I am also going to be there.”

 

Ryeowook looks startled.  “You are?”

 

“Yes, it’s because of me and my poor decisions that Yoochun won’t be with him.”

 

“You didn’t know.”

 

“But still, because of my pride he won’t be with his best friend when he dies.  Changmin was my best friend…and I…even though I need to be there for Yunho, because God knows he has done more for me than I ever deserved…I need to be with Yunho for Changmin’s sake, too.”

 

“I understand,” Ryeowook told his husband as he walked up and embraced him tightly.  “You need to make arrangements quickly.  Once Jaejoong completes breaking his bond with Changmin we have to leave immediately.”

 

Kyuhyun hugged Ryeowook tightly.  “I will send Lieutenant Sooyoung back to the ship and hand command over to Lieutenant Kim.”

 

“Yes, Sooyoung has to return to the ship.  She has to bring baby Changmin to Yunho and his parents in the past.”

 

Commander Cho pulled away.  “Go to Jaejoong and notify me once the bond is broken.”

 

“I will,” Ryeowook said with new determination as he walked out of the transporter room and quickly headed toward the captain’s quarters.

 

Once he arrived at the quarters the door swooshed open and he could hear Changmin screaming out in pain as his bond with Jaejoong was being ripped from him.  Ryeowook winced as an empathic wave of pain hit him.  He reached out a hand to steady himself against the door.  “Dr Jin, I am here to relieve you,” he called out weakly.

 

Jin promptly appeared, exiting the bedroom.  The young doctor looked emotionally wrecked.  “Thank God…I can’t handle this much longer.”

 

Ryeowook fought against every instinct that told him to intervene and spare Changmin the agony. He told Jin in a slow and controlled voice, “I need you to go to the planet and be with the captain.  I don’t want him to be without a doctor.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Jin hurriedly responded as he rushed out of the cabin and away from the unbearable screams of the child.

 

                                                 ************************************

 

When Kyuhyun arrived on the planet he noticed the engineers and scientists were still hard at work trying to save the captain, but Commander Yoochun was with Lieutenant Donghae.   The two of them were sitting close to the captain with the force field between them.   The transporter chief was being very animated as he told a story that seemed to amuse the captain and the chief engineer.

 

“So, he’s a celebrity now?” Yoochun asked while shaking his head in disbelief.

 

“His book ‘The Evil Vamps’ was number one on five different planets when I visited Earth last.  It seems people are fascinated by our adventures,” Lieutenant Donghae explained.  “He was working on his second book when I visited him.”

 

“Did he have a title for it?”  The engineer asked curiously.

 

Donghae quickly replied, “He was going to call it ‘Spider Bats from Hell.”

 

Yoochun grinned.  “Well, at least he was present for that adventure.”

 

Yunho closed his eyes and said softly, “I am glad he found his happiness.”

 

“He did,” Donghae assured them.  “My old transporter assistant found his knack in life.   He is surrounded by loved ones and doing what he loves best.”

 

Yunho didn’t open his eyes when he asked, “Commander Cho, have you come to collect Lieutenant Sooyoung?”

 

Kyuhyun walked over to them, while motioning for Lieutenant Sooyoung.  “I think it is time for Lieutenant Sooyoung to return to the ship.”

 

Lieutenant Sooyoung walked over looking like she wanted to protest but kept her complaints to herself.  “Captain, I am here to do whatever you require of me.”

 

“Jaejoong will be done soon…and then you all must leave quickly,” Yunho said as he opened glassy eyes that now had a yellow tint to them. 

 

“Well, I am staying right here,” Yoochun told his friend.  “Well, at least until Junsu is needed to save the day.”

 

“I am also staying,” Commander Cho told the captain, causing Yunho to look up at him, startled.  “Changmin would have wanted me to stay with you.”

 

Yunho gave the second in command a warm smile.  “Thank you, Kyuhyun.”

 

Lieutenant Sooyoung, who looked increasingly more uncomfortable, protested, “Sir, I know I have to take Changmin back in time to your parents…but I can’t help but feel like we are overlooking something pivotal.  I don’t believe Changmin would have made such an error, especially not about something this important.”

 

“He just ran out of time,” Yunho told her.  “And now I am running out of time.  Time, the great equalizer…time the…time… _fuck time_.”

 

“Yunho?”  Yoochun asked, alarmed by his friend’s choice of words.

 

“Fuck time,” Yunho repeated his gaze hardening.  “Lieutenant Sooyoung doesn’t have to take Changmin back in time.  If she wants to stay here and work, she can.”

 

“Sir?” Commander Cho asked, confused by the captain’s abrupt change in attitude.

 

A new light shone in Yunho’s eyes as he stated confidently, “Time is what we make of it.”

 

 

                                                ***********************************

 

 

“How’s it going?”  Dr. Nam asked as he and the rest of the crew along with Jimin approached the shuttle craft.

 

Ensign Minho stepped out of the shuttle looking very excited.  “She’s back up and running.”

 

Ensign Kangin looked truly surprised.  “She is?”

 

“Yeah,” Lieutenant Sunggyu replied as he stepped out of the shuttle scratching his head.  “She’s back in working order like she should have been hours ago.  It’s really strange.”

 

“Wow,” was all Ensign Jungkook said as he stepped inside the shuttle.

 

“It’s time to take on the Golden Pyramid and whatever beasts are protecting it,” Lieutenant Sunggyu informed them as he followed the young ensign back inside the shuttle with the rest of the away team. 

 

“It’s probably going to be snakes,” Dr. Nam pointed out.  “Snakes are rumored to protect it.”

 

“I’d rather deal with snakes than spiders,” Ensign Kangin told them again.

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu shuddered, “Me too.”

 

“Not me,” Ensign Minho replied, looking at the two other men like they were unhinged.  “I rather deal with a spider anytime than a snake.”  


“What about a giant spider that wants desperately to kill you?”  Lieutenant Sunggyu asked.

 

“Or spiders with wings that want to suck out your blood?” Ensign Kangin asked.  “Wait!  You were there with those flying bloodsuckers…don’t tell me you don’t fear spiders.”

 

“Honestly, I’d rather not deal with either,” Ensign Minho admitted as he took his seat.  “But the thought of snakes is not appealing either.”

 

“No, it isn’t,” Ensign Jungkook agreed as he took his seat at the helm.

 

Jimin, who was standing closely behind Jungkook, ran his hand though the ensign’s dark hair.  “Don’t worry I will protect you.”

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu and Ensign Minho shared a concerned look with each other.  Lieutenant Sunggyu asked cautiously, “Jimin, do you intend on coming with us?”

 

The young man nodded his head eagerly.  “Yes, because I am going to help you with the riddle.  I’m very good with riddles.”

 

“Great!”  Lieutenant Sunggyu replied, suddenly enthusiastic as if he had no reservations about the young man coming with them.  “Last time my phaser almost ran out of juice when I had to kill that damn spider.”

 

Woohyun motioned for Jimin to come sit by him and asked, “Have you ever been on a space ship before?”

 

“Yes,” Jimin answered as he took the seat between Dr. Nam and Ensign Kangin.  “I didn’t like it much though.”

 

“Really kid, you’ve been in space before?” Kangin asked, surprised. 

 

“Yes,” Jimin confirmed.  “My family sells a lot of hay to off-worlders.  A lot of the nearby planets have been suffering from droughts and they need the hay to feed their livestock.”

 

Ensign Jungkook, who was at the front of the shuttle with Lieutenant Sunggyu, stated, “Well, you do have a lot of hay.”

 

“We do,” Jimin agreed, smiling affectionately at the young pilot.  “I didn’t like the other ship though, and I really didn’t like its captain.”

 

“Was he a jerk?”  Woohyun asked as he winked slyly at Jimin and pointed toward Sunggyu.  “A lot of those command fellows are like that.”

 

Sunggyu, in the front of the shuttle, ignored the doctor while Kangin chuckled.

 

“He kept asking me to marry him,” Jimin explained, while rolling his eyes.  “He was old and boring.  When he finally realized I’d never marry him willingly, he just stopped buying hay from my family and the rest of the planet.  A lot of people were dependent on him for their wellbeing.  It was like, if he couldn’t get what he wanted, he didn’t care how many people got hurt.”

 

“He sounds like a creep,” Woohyun told Jimin.  “I mean you can’t be older than what…eighteen?”

 

“I’m actually twenty-two,” Jimin told the doctor.  “But I looked a lot younger before I got burned.”

 

“Your burns aren’t that bad,” Ensign Jungkook said from the front of the shuttle.   “They are barely noticeable.”

 

Sunggyu kept his face carefully neutral while side-eying the young ensign because Jimin’s burns looked awful to him.  “Okay, Ensign Jungkook, let’s go.”

 

“Yes, Sir!” Ensign Jungkook replied as the shuttle took off.

 

 

                                                             *******************************

 

 

Ryeowook sat alone in the living area of the Captain’s cabin with his face buried in hands, wishing with all his heart that the screaming would just stop. 

 

Then it did.

 

And he immediately felt enormous guilt because he knew what the end of the screaming signified. 

 

He slowly got up, stumbled to the bedroom that Jaejoong and Yunho had shared, and found Jaejoong on the bed with his eyes locked on the ceiling. 

 

Beside Jaejoong sat a human toddler that stared back at Ryeowook with inquisitive brown eyes.

 

Ryeowook swallowed down his sadness and tapped his combadge.  “It is done.”

 

“Understood,” was the only reply he got from his husband.

 

He maintained eye contact with Changmin, who looked perfectly healthy and unfazed…like he had never suffered through the horrendous pain of breaking the bond with his birth parent. 

 

Jaejoong whimpered as the ship went into warp and sped away from the dying Yunho.

 

The child with brown hair and eyes who would someday be Lieutenant Changmin in his _future_ and Ryeowook’s _past_ held out his arms for the doctor to hold him.

 

“You know, I was the first one to ever hold you,” Ryeowook told the toddler in a comforting voice as he approached the bed and picked up the child.  “When you were born it was I who handed you to Jaejoong.”

 

The child just looked at Ryeowook curiously.

 

“Changmin, I didn’t know how much I missed those genius brown eyes of yours,” Ryeowook told the child fondly. “I look at you now and I see the man that will someday be my friend.”

 

“Take him and go,” Jaejoong cried out, still staring up at the ceiling.  “I am going to lose consciousness soon…wake me when we arrive at the Guardian, so history can play out.”

 

“Don’t you want to keep him with you?”

 

Jaejoong continued to avoid looking at them.  “He’s not mine anymore.  He feels nothing more for me than he does you.”

 

“Jaejoong!” Ryeowook chastised.  “He’s still your son.”

 

“He’s only Yunho’s son,” Jaejoong told Ryeowook.  “Only a small thread of our once immense bond still exists.”

 

Ryeowook’s eyes widened.  “It does?  I thought you had to break it completely.”

 

“If I broke it completely he would die being this far from Yunho,” Jaejoong whispered.  “It isn’t anything substantial and I will break it completely when he enters the Guardian.  He will join his father in the past and when he encounters me again he will feel nothing for me…and I will feel nothing for him.”

 

The toddler rested his head against Ryeowook’s shoulder.  “I’m sorry, but at least he gets to live.”

 

“And luckily I get to die…because I couldn’t keep on living after what I just did.   My Changmin…my sweet, beautiful, loving boy…I killed him, so Lieutenant Jung could live.”

 

“Lieutenant Jung is your child,” Ryeowook told the Joong as he ran his hand through the toddler’s hair.

 

“Just go,” Jaejoong ordered.  “I’ve had my last human morality lesson from you.”

 

“I’ll go,” the doctor told the Joong, knowing the time for such lessons had passed.  He walked away from his friend with the child the Joong had both saved and lost.

 

 

                                                       ********************************

 

 

“I thought I loved you more than life itself…and then I saw that gigantic snake and realized I don’t love you more than my own life, especially when my life is at risk of being eaten by that monster,” Woohyun stated grimly as he peered at the screen on the shuttle that showed a huge green snake over five hundred meters long in length eyeing the shuttle ravenously.  The snake in question had already killed thousands of the people the governments of Orden had sent to Golden Pyramid.  The slain consisted of their world’s greatest soldiers and brightest scientists, who had valiantly attempted to enter the Golden Pyramid in hopes of acquiring a great weapon to help protect their world against the Joong hunters.

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu turned around to glare at the doctor.  “Can you please act professionally?”

 

“Nope,” Woohyun responded while shaking his head.  “If being professional means stepping outside this shuttle, then I quit.  Screw Starfleet, I didn’t sign up for this.”

 

“You know how I said I’d be happy to face a snake instead of spiders…well, I take that back,” Ensign Kangin informed them.  “Apparently I didn’t know what the fuck I was talking about.”

 

Jimin, who was sitting between Dr. Nam and Ensign Kangin, looked at the corpses of people who had died trying to protect their planet and not the giant snake; the giant snake that was repeatedly striking at the shuttle that was flying over its head.  “So many dead, such a waste of life...”

 

“Not a complete waste,” Ensign Minho voiced.  “One of them must have gotten through because the shield did raise.”

 

“But what was the point?”  Ensign Kangin asked.  “The shield just ended up trapping the hunters on the planet, so they could wreck even more havoc.”

 

“They didn’t know what the weapon was,” Lieutenant Sunggyu pointed out.  “They were just desperate and willing to try anything.  It did keep other hunters from arriving.”

 

“Yes, that is true,” Ensign Kangin conceded.  “They were very brave to face that beast.”

 

“Indeed, they were,” Dr. Nam agreed with huge eyes as he watched the snake lunge for the shuttle.

 

Ensign Sunggyu turned to Jungkook and ordered, “When you get the chance, land the shuttle again.  Flying around in circles is not helping us accomplish our goal and it is just irritating the snake.  Just make sure the shields stay up.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Ensign Jungkook replied.

 

“Usually green snakes are not venous,” Minho randomly pointed out.

 

“It sprayed the shuttle with its venom earlier when the shields were down,” Woohyun sputtered. “The venom is dissolving the paint!” 

 

Minho nodded his head.  “Yes, I know; I was just pointing out a fact that applies to our world and several other worlds in the Federation, perhaps the soldiers thought it would not harm them.”

 

“The green mamba and the boomslang of Africa are poisonous,” Ensign Jungkook interjected.

 

“That is true; and they are both green,” Minho replied, looking impressed by the young pilot’s knowledge of snakes. 

 

Ensign Jungkook went on to explain as he landed the shuttle, “I grew up with an overly protective brother that made me memorize all the poisonous snakes on any continent we were on.”

 

Jimin, who was sitting on the other side of Woohyun, declared, “Your brother sounds so nice.  I’d love to have a brother, or _a brother-in-law_ like him.”

 

Dr. Nam and Kangin both snorted at Jimin’s boldness.

 

Ensign Jungkook paled. “He’s nice when he isn’t being overprotective.”

 

“Did he warn you about this monster?”  Woohyun asked as he kept his eyes locked on the shuttle’s screen that showed the giant snake coiling up while watching the shuttle with its huge black eyes.  “Because I think it is gearing up to attack the shuttle again.”

 

“Focus on the riddle!” Lieutenant Sunggyu demanded, pointing to the huge stone that Ensign Jungkook had landed the shuttle by.  The stone had a riddle engraved on it.  “Focus on it and not the giant snake that wants to eat us.”

 

“I hate riddles,” Kangin told the lieutenant.  “I really suck at them.  I say we feed the snake a photon torpedo and be done with it.”

 

“Absolutely not!  I got enough grief for killing that blasted spider last time,” Lieutenant Sunggyu protested to the others.   “The admirals thought I should have tried to reason with it…as if that was even a remote possibility!”

 

“Hey, we aren’t going to tell anyone if snakey gets really bad indigestion and dies…are we, boys?”  Ensign Kangin asked the other people in the shuttle.

 

“Hell, no!” Woohyun replied quickly.

 

“The shuttle could have an odd malfunction…and this part of our journey could not be recorded for prosperity,” Ensign Minho pointed out helpfully.  “Stranger things have happened…stranger things have happened today.”

 

Jimin laughed and got up out of his seat.  “I know the answer to the riddle, so no need to kill the snake.  It’s very old and it’s been protecting the pyramid for a long time.  It’s just doing its job.”

 

Woohyun just gaped at the boy in astonishment.

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu got up from his seat and asked, “Are you positive you know the answer to the riddle?”

 

“Yes,” Jimin assured the lieutenant as he walked up to the front of the shuttle.  “Like I said, I am very good at riddles.”

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu grabbed a phaser, “If you are sure.”

 

“I am sure, but you don’t need to come with me,” Jimin informed the commanding officer.  “You all can stay in the safety of the shuttle.  It shouldn’t take long.”

 

“Okay!” Woohyun quickly replied.  “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

 

Ensign Kangin shrugged.  “If you insist…then I’m okay with waiting this one out.”

 

Ensign Jungkook and Minho said nothing; they just stared down at the controls in front of them, trying to look busy.

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu shook his head.  “No, I am going with you.  Ensign Minho, please beam us a safe distance from the snake.  If it looks like it’s about to strike beam us back immediately.”

 

“Wait!”  Woohyun ordered, looking alarmed.  “Sunggyu, are you really doing this?”

 

“Yes,” Lieutenant Sunggyu told him.

 

“Are you mad?”

 

“No, I have a duty to perform.”

 

“I can’t let you go without me!”  Woohyun stated, standing up.  “I’ll go, too!”

 

“No,” Lieutenant Sunggyu stated firmly.  “You have to be safe in here, so if we get sprayed with snake venom you can help us.  Jimin and I are the only two going and that is final.  Ensign Minho, beam us away.”

 

Woohyun watched, horrified, as Sunggyu was beamed away.  “Damn, I do love him more than my own life.”

 

“You really do,” Ensign Kangin agreed.  “I think we all agree that you totally deserve to get laid.”

 

Woohyun beamed.  “Thank you!”

 

                                                                                                                              ******************

 

Yoochun sat on the ground beside the force field and watched over his unconscious friend.

 

Yunho’s skin color was an awful yellow.  Dr. Jin had explained to all the members of the crew that had remained on the planet that the captain’s liver was failing.

 

There were so many things that Yoochun knew he should say, but he also knew he didn’t need to say them…Yunho knew.  He didn’t have to make any dying declarations of brotherhood, but still he wondered if maybe he should.  Would it make him feel better in the years to come?

 

“Not dead, yet.”

 

The words of his friend startled the engineer, but he managed to hide it.  He put on his best annoyed face.  “I know you’re not dead.  I was wondering if you were ever going get your ass up and help us.”

 

“Before Jaejoong left I told him if I sat down I wouldn’t be able to get back up.”

 

“When did you get so pessimistic?  For over a decade I have been repeatedly assaulted by your unrelenting positivity, don’t tell me it’s failing you now?”

 

“You have been the greatest—”

 

“Stop it,” Yoochun commanded, his voice breaking, “none of that.  What we need is some of your—what did Changmin use to call it?  Oh, I remember, he called it your simplistic approach to problems.”

 

Yunho smiled at the mention of Changmin.  “I already tried that.”

 

Yoochun turned to look at the crew, who continued to work on the problem, while giving him and the captain some privacy.  “She still might figure it out.”

 

“Maybe,” Yunho said but his voice was devoid of hope.  “I need you to look after Changmin…if he is sent back.”

 

“I wish we knew for sure that he would be sent back, because I would have sent kid Changmin through the Guardian a long ass time ago, if I had known the big version knew how to save you.”

 

“We can’t be sure of anything,” Yunho softly told his friend.  “If he does come back you two will need each other.”

 

Yoochun said bitterly, “Your damaged friend and your robotic son…two people that find it impossible to love anyone but you.  What a great comfort we will be to each other.”

 

“Yoochun,” Yunho cried out, desperate to make the other man understand before it was too late.  “To me you are my dearest friend and he is my beloved son.  I love you both, and I need you to help each other when I am gone.   Promise me!”

 

“You are an empath now…you truly know what I am like now,” Yoochun told his dying friend.  “You know that—”

 

Yunho quickly interrupted to tell his friend, “When you are with me I feel friendship, fondness, and even love…and it is like a great light that shines on me.  It is a wonderful feeling.  I am glad I got to feel it before I died.  Words cannot describe it properly.”

 

“For you…I feel that way, but only for you…when I try to feel for others it gets tarnished.”

 

“Not just for me,” Yunho said correcting the other man.  “Jaejoong told me that Kangin and Sunggyu both can lift you from your darkness.  You gave your favorite future robot a whole point; don’t forget that.”

 

“I don’t think I gave him a whole point,” Yoochun said, unable to keep from grinning through the bleakness as he remembered his talk with Yunho from earlier.  He felt strangely comforted by Yunho’s words.  “But I must admit I am kind of fond of his stingy ass.”

 

“Help him…”

 

“I will do my best,” Yoochun conceded.  “He is your son, so I suppose I will watch out for him…for you…the best friend anyone could ever ask for.  You know I’d do anything for you, so I will do this for you too.”

 

“Thank you; and you are going to be fine without me.”

 

Yoochun turned around to glare at Commander Cho, who was working with Lieutenant Sooyoung.  “ _If_ I don’t kill our temporary captain...”

 

Yunho winced.  “Don’t murder him, because someday Sunggyu will be a captain and you know you have to be his chief engineer.  It would be such a waste if you were stuck in a penal colony.”

 

“It would be, because I would probably get stuck with Sungmin and then I would kill him too…and get a double life sentence.”

 

“Very true,” Yunho told him in a weak scratchy voice.  “It would be a waste if you didn’t get to boss Captain Sunggyu around in the future.”

 

The engineer chuckled.  “Yes, it would be.  I will make Changmin join the crew also, so I can keep an eye on him…and he can save our lives all the time with his unmatched intelligence.  It might be fun; every time future Captain Sunggyu does something to tax my engines I will remind him of when he was a snot nosed cadet with bright red hair.”

 

Yunho let out a laugh that quickly turned into a coughing fit.   Dr. Jin walked closer to observe the captain as Commander Yoochun turned ghostly white.

 

“Sir, are you okay?” a suddenly very nervous looking Yoochun asked as he watched blood drip from Yunho’s mouth.

 

With the last of his strength Yunho managed a gentle smile and said softly, “Ensign Eunhyuk, I’m far from okay, but it will be over soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All feedback is welcome!!!!! Both kudos and comments(positive or constructive) are greatly appreciated!


	3. A Million Reasons...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I wish I had never lived to see him lose hope, because it will haunt me for a long time; maybe forever. Even in his hopelessness he was trying to give me something to live for. He never gave up on me…even when he gave up on himself…he still believed in me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Amy for all her wonderful guidance and to Tahoeturquoise my wonderful beta!

Junsu didn’t trust his eyes so he squeezed them shut and then slowly opened them again to find that he was indeed on the bridge of the Expectations.  He was sitting at the navigation station and Ensign L was sitting next to him at the helm…his old station.

 

He watched uneasily as Dr. Cho walked up to him, placed a hand on his shoulder and greeted him.  “Hello Junsu.”

 

“Why am I here?” he immediately demanded because the stones were supposed to be used only for emergencies or for information exchanges if they were unable use the Guardians after an extended period of time.

 

Another man that Junsu didn’t recognize walked up beside the doctor and explained, “Ensign Junsu, I am—”

 

Junsu, who was in casual clothing, quickly interrupted to explain, “It is Lieutenant Junsu, now.”

 

“Congratulations on your promotion.  I am Lieutenant Kim and the ship is in desperate need of your expert piloting skills.  We are traveling through an area of space that is being subjected to severe ion storms and all our level five pilots are detained elsewhere.”

 

A sense of dread started building inside of Junsu and he looked fearfully at Dr. Cho.  “Where is Captain Yunho?”  


Dr. Cho let his hand drop from Junsu’s shoulder and looked down at his feet before answering.  “He can’t be with us.”

 

“Where are we going?” Junsu asked fearfully, already knowing the answer.

 

“To a Guardian,” the doctor replied.  “We don’t have much time left…if we don’t hurry, Changmin will be lost to us.”

 

Ensign L got up and motioned for Junsu to take the helm.  Junsu quickly did as directed and without another word he read the desired coordinates and started piloting the great ship with all the skill he possessed.

 

Lieutenant Kim monitored Junsu’s expert flying skills only for few minutes before beckoning the doctor to follow him to the back of the bridge where he whispered, “How is the child doing?”

 

“He is in sickbay sleeping under the watchful eye of all the nurses.”

 

“Is Jaejoong not with him?”  Lieutenant Kim asked; honestly surprised.

 

Ryeowook shook his head.  “No; Jaejoong…he’s wounded in ways I can’t imagine.  When last I checked on him he appeared to be unconscious, but I know he will revive when we get to the Guardian.  He will do what he has to…but I think he looks forward to death, now.”

 

“Due to breaking the bond with the child?” 

 

“Yes, that on top of Yunho’s impending demise and the effect the distance has on the bond mates…it was too much for him,” Ryeowook explained.  “Changmin doesn’t even look the same.  He looks like a regular human child.  The breaking of the bond was terrible to witness…and to withstand.  I do believe Dr. Jin and I will be haunted by the empathic waves of emotion and the screams for a very long time.  I don’t think Jaejoong can live knowing the pain he inflicted on his child.”

 

Lieutenant Kim looked truly sorry for them all.  “He did it to save his son…I hope that will be of some comfort to him.”

 

“Sadly, I don’t think that is any comfort at all…because what he saved is nothing compared to what he feels he has lost.”

 

                                                                   ************************

 

Yunho was gone.

 

And in his place Junsu stared back at him.

 

Yoochun found himself standing in front of a mirror in Junsu’s body, brushing his hair.  His hand paused, and he stared at the reflection in the mirror.

 

The reflection was that of the only person he ever thought he might have been in love with.  The only person he ever considered having a committed relationship with.

 

A person he had killed for.

 

A person he had wanted to possess.

 

The minutes passed, and he just stared at Junsu’s reflection.

 

When the combadge on Junsu’s uniform went off it caused Yoochun to jump.  He tapped it and before he could reply a female’s voice asked, “Junsu, are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine,” he answered quickly.

 

“I’m waiting on you.”

 

“You…are?”

 

“Yes, you were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago,” the female voice told him.  “I am not going to let you name the new flower we discovered if you don’t hurry.”

 

Yoochun frowned, realizing he must be talking to a botanist.  He forced himself to sound pleasant as he responded, “Oh, Gee…I’m sorry…very sorry!  I just remembered I have to write a report.”

 

“Do you need help?”

 

“No…no…no, I am good,” Yoochun stated as he walked away from the mirror to the desk where he picked up a picture of dark-skinned woman with bright green eyes.

 

The voice on the other end sounded disappointed.  “Okay, but you know I’d love to help you.”

 

“Thanks, but I am jolly good.  See you later,” Yoochun hurriedly responded and then tapped the combadge to end the conversation.

 

Yoochun set the picture down and noticed the other pictures on the desk of Junsu’s friends.  He picked up a picture of Junsu with Eunhyuk and sat down at the desk as a wave of regret washed over him.   He didn’t have any pictures in his quarters…not even of him and his best friend.

 

“Computer, record both visually and with audio,” he ordered.

 

The computer swiftly replied, “Recording in progress.”

 

He cleared his voice and stated, “Hey Junsu, it’s me; your least favorite body snatcher.  I promise I haven’t done anything wicked to your body.  I was nice to your botanist when she called looking for you.  Which was probably the first time I was ever nice to a botanist, considering botany is the most useless of the soft sciences.”

 

“I won’t go into the details about why I am here because you know by now.  I’m also not notifying anyone that I am here.  Screw them.  You can tell them the sad story when you return.  Tell them how my best friend died…painfully and alone.  Technically he wasn’t alone, but he wasn’t with anyone who really knew him…or loved him.  Kyuhyun doesn’t count because he is a useless asshole who isn’t worthy of being with my best friend as he takes his last breath.”

 

“You know I’m never sentimental, but I keep calling him my best friend…not the captain…not Yunho, but my best friend.  Because he was, but he was so much more…he was a light in my darkness…the brother I chose, and maybe I regret not calling him my best friend more often during our friendship that spanned over a decade.”

 

“He was empathic at the end, and he didn’t run away from me.  He didn’t get that terrified look most empaths get when they are in my company.  That is why Yunho was the best.  He knew I wasn’t a good person, and I never had to be a good person to be worthy of his friendship.  He didn’t have to justify my actions—sugar-coat them in his head to have me as his friend.  He knew I was terrible at times, and he loved me anyway.  His love for me wasn’t dependent on my innocence.”

 

“I think our last minutes together were the closest we ever were, he knew me better than he had ever known me before and I felt more than I have ever felt before.  He was realistic to the end.  He didn’t tell me to come find you and declare my…my _whatever_ —because he knew.”

  

“He didn’t even mention you in the end, because I think he realized how toxic my feelings for you are.  He mentioned Changmin, Kangin, and Sunggyu, but not a word about you.  He told me that Jaejoong told him that my darkness lifts in the presence of Kangin and Sunggyu—I suspected this, but it was nice to have it confirmed.  Kangin is also my friend; he’s no Yunho, but he has known me for years and accepts me.  Sunggyu—he’s so much like Yunho at times, but not nearly as grand.  But Sunggyu is enough like Yunho that the warped part of me that taints so many of my relationships is strangely quiet when I am around him.”

 

“He wants me to help Changmin if the Guardian does send him back…and I will try, but fuck…it’s going to be so hard to survive after losing Yunho.  I was born without emotions…and currently I regret ever getting any…the pain…the emotional pain…it’s excruciating.  When I was being crushed to death that time on the dinosaur planet—that was nothing compared to this.”

 

“I will do my best to help Changmin, but I don’t know how much help I will be.  I suppose I won’t kill Kyuhyun for robbing me of time spent with Yunho—because he will probably be the most help to Changmin.  Kyuhyun is a total fucktard but he would do anything for Changmin…quite literally.  I mean, the man got tortured and raped by that Zhoumi bastard for Changmin, so even I won’t question the merits of that friendship.  I am still going to oust Kyuhyun from being the new captain though, because that idiot doesn’t deserve Yunho’s ship.”

 

Yoochun leaned back and stared up at the ceiling and let the tears he’d been holding back fall from his eyes.  “Yunho always wanted to be the captain of a ship.  His dream was always to have his own ship and that dream never changed or waivered in all the years that I knew him.  As cadets we had it all planned out, he was going to be the captain and I was going to be his chief engineer.  People will say Jaejoong was Yunho’s great love but not me.  The Expectations…she was his first dream and greatest love.”

 

“Yunho told me to be patient until Sunggyu gets a ship…so I could be his engineer.  Yunho was dying and he was planning out my future.  He was trying to give me hope, but I think he lost hope… I think his spirit accepted that he was going die—which is totally unlike him.  I wish I had never lived to see him lose hope, because it will haunt me for a long time; maybe forever.  Even in his hopelessness he was trying to give me something to live for.  He never gave up on me…even when he gave up on himself…he still believed in me.”

 

“I will never forget the boy, my best friend, that I met all those years ago at the Star Fleet entrance exams, who reached out his hand to me in friendship and never withdrew it.”

 

“Computer, end recording.”

 

                                            *********************************

 

“Lieutenant Kim, we have crossed through the worst of the interference caused by the ion storms,” Ensign Lee, who was manning the science station, called out. 

 

“Please contact the shuttle,” Lieutenant Kim, who was sitting in the captain’s chair, ordered.

 

After a few seconds the inside of the shuttle appeared on the bridge’s screen with a wide-eyed Ensign Jungkook in the pilot’s seat.  “Nam—Lieutenant Kim!” The young ensign called out.

 

Lieutenant Kim quickly assessed the situation and asked, “Ensign Jungkook, where is Lieutenant Sunggyu?”

 

Dr. Nam, who moved forward to sit in Lieutenant Sunggyu’s vacated seat on the shuttle, explained, “He’s off trying to get the shield down, so we can leave the planet and rendezvous with the ship.”

 

“He went alone?”

 

“No,” Ensign Kangin answered from behind Dr. Nam. “He’s with Jimin.”

 

“Jimin?” A confused Dr. Cho, who was seated beside Lieutenant Kim, asked.

 

“He’s awesome,” Dr. Nam replied.  “He’s really helpful.”

 

Ensign Jungkook nodded his head in agreement.  “Yeah, and he’s great at riddles.”

 

Lieutenant Kim looked perplexed and stated slowly, “Jimin…is the son of the farmers that were helping you…and he is good at solving ancient Joong riddles that are written in a language even the universal translators have difficulty deciphering?”

 

“Yep,” Dr. Nam answered confidently.  “It was amazing to watch.  That giant snake went from an evil, venom spitting serpent straight from hell to a nice, docile sweetheart.”

 

Ensign Minho, who had gotten up to stand behind Ensign Jungkook, confirmed, “It was almost unbelievable to watch.”

 

Kangin nodded his head.  “It’s a shame we didn’t get here sooner.”

 

“It truly is,” Dr. Nam agreed.  “The snake killed over a thousand of the planet’s best scientists and soldiers just because they didn’t know the answer to the riddle.”

 

“Do you not find it unusual that a thousand people could not answer the riddle, but a farm boy could?”  Lieutenant Kim asked, not bothering to hide his skepticism.

 

“Hey, farm boys are capable of all kinds of things,” Ryeowook huffily declared. “I was once a farm boy!”

 

“Seriously, doctor!” Lieutenant Kim stated, exasperated. 

 

“I am serious!”

 

“Show me a picture of this Jimin,” Lieutenant Kim ordered.

 

“We can’t do that,” Dr. Nam explained. “Jimin is very shy.  He has terrible burns all over his face.  I couldn’t even heal them.  I was able to heal his parents without any difficulty but Jimin’s were too severe. It’s such a shame.  Hopefully, once we get him aboard the Expectations we will be able to do more.”

 

Ryeowook frowned.  “You couldn’t heal his burns?”

 

“They are really bad,” Woohyun insisted.

 

Ensign Jungkook shook his head.  “No, they really aren’t.  I don’t know why everybody keeps saying that.  His weren’t nearly as bad as his parents.”

 

“JK, that is so sweet of you to say,” Dr. Nam told him, “but Jimin isn’t here, so you can be honest.”

 

“Show me a picture of Jimin,” Lieutenant Kim commanded in a calm voice.  “Dr. Cho needs to see the severity of the burns if you want him to help heal the boy.”

 

The members of the shuttle crew all nodded their heads, eager to help Jimin.  Ensign Minho quickly displayed a picture of Jimin that the shuttle’s surveillance system had captured.

 

Ryeowook groaned and looked sheepishly at Lieutenant Kim.  “Oh, I bet _that_ farm boy is _really_ good at answering riddles.”

 

 

                                                              ***********************

 

 

Death was all around them.

 

When they finally reached the center of the pyramid they found a control room.  It was very different from the rest of the pyramid, which had consisted of dusty and narrow passageways.  During most of their journey they’d had to crawl on all fours.  The control room was spacious and if not for the dead bodies on the floor, the room would have been spotless.

 

A bright light lit the room and in the middle of the room was a red lever.  

 

One solider had made it to the lever and his dead hand was still clasping it.   Lieutenant Sunggyu read the readings on the tricorder and quickly determined the lever was what controlled the shield.  He walked over to the lever, gently removed the fallen soldier’s hand and lowered the man’s body to the floor.   His Star Fleet command training had taught him to focus on the problem at hand and not to let his emotions control him.

 

A tearful Jimin, who lacked such training, sat down on a part of the floor that was free of the dead and wept.

 

Sunggyu tapped his combadge and called the shuttle, “Ensign Minho, we have found the power source.  I will deactivate the shield and then you can beam us back to the shuttle.”

 

“Lieutenant Sunggyu, congratulations on finding the power source,” Lieutenant Kim’s voice responded instead of Ensign Minho’s, surprising Lieutenant Sunggyu.

 

“Lieutenant Kim?”

 

“Yes, I am in temporary command on the Expectations,” Lieutenant Kim supplied.  “We have moved past the worst of the ion storms and are quickly nearing your area of space.”

 

“Where is Commander Cho or Commander Yoochun?”

 

“They stayed behind on the planet with the captain,” Lieutenant Kim explained.  “I also must warn you that if the being Jimin is on the shuttle when we rendezvous with you he will not be allowed on the ship.”

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu turned to look at Jimin as he questioned, “The _being_ Jimin?  What exactly do you mean by that?”

 

Jimin wiped his tearful eyes, met the lieutenant’s gaze and sniffled as the illusion fell away, causing Lieutenant Sunggyu to gasp aloud.

 

Lieutenant Kim elaborated, “Jimin is a Joong.  He has been manipulating you and your team since you arrived on the planet.  He cannot be allowed on the ship.”

 

“I see that...now,” Lieutenant Sunggyu replied, while staring at the Joong. “He’s allowing me to see the real him.”

 

“Hopefully, he will leave your memories intact after this conversation ends.  I wish you luck, Lieutenant Sunggyu,” Lieutenant Kim stated, “We hope to see you soon.”

 

“Lieutenant Sunggyu out,” Sunggyu ordered as he tapped his combadge and gave Jimin a very accusative glare.  “You fooled me!”

 

Jimin, who was still sitting on the floor, wiped more tears away and confessed, “I did, but it wasn’t easy.  You are a very clever people; especially you and Ensign Minho.”

 

“That doesn’t make me feel any better!”

 

“I think if I meant you any malice you would have been more aware of my trickery,” Jimin told him.  “I never meant you any harm.”

 

“Was the shuttle even damaged?”

 

Jimin shrugged.  “It was…but it didn’t take you long to fix it.  Once I knew you had to hurry I let you know it was fixed.”

 

Sunggyu grunted.  “You know, Joongs are not my favorite people!   Victoria tried to ruin my first away mission by killing my captain, Jaejoong treats me like his glorified babysitter, and you made a fool of me.”

 

“I didn’t!” Jimin protested.  “I have to be careful.  I can’t trust people.”

 

“You could have trusted us!”

 

“Joongs always think they can trust someone…but humans are always changing their minds and end up being untrustworthy!”  Jimin cried out.  “I hate how other species treat us…hunt us—just look at all these poor dead souls on this planet!  They are dead because of me!  I wish I had never left Joong!”

 

“Well, I am sure all these dead people wish you hadn’t, either!” Lieutenant Sunggyu snapped, but the look of pure horror on Jimin’s face made him quickly add, “But it isn’t your fault what other treacherous souls do.  This is on them and their greed.  Their hunting you is what led to this—this is on them.”

 

Jimin didn’t look convinced but he slowly stood up and pointed to the lever.  “Hurry and go.”

 

“You are staying here?”

 

“Yes, they all died to put the shield up…once you are free of the planet I will activate the shield again,” Jimin explained.  “I won’t have them all dying in vain.”

 

“That’s very decent of you,” Lieutenant Sunggyu admitted.  “But will you be safe here?”

 

“It doesn’t matter!  Just hurry and go,” Jimin told him forcefully as he approached the lever.  “Hurry before I change my mind.”

 

Sunggyu did not bother hiding his concern.  “You need to tell that big snake to stop being nice and tell it to defend you.”

 

“Hurry and go!”  Jimin shouted as he released the lever lowering the shield.  “I find your young pilot very tempting!  Go before I decide to bond with him!”

 

“Ensign Minho, beam me back to the ship,” Lieutenant Sunggyu ordered as he tapped his combadge.

 

Jimin watched sadly as Sunggyu disappeared.

 

 

                                                                   *********************

 

_When I am down, and, oh, my soul, so weary_  
_When troubles come, and my heart burdened be_  
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence  
Until you come and sit awhile with me

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains_  
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas  
I am strong when I am on your shoulders  
You raise me up to more than I can be

 

 

Kyuhyun leaned against the forcefield, watched over his unconscious captain and sang with all his soul.   His rich, deep, golden voice filled the air, making the unbearable a little less terrible.

 

Dr. Jin, who had been monitoring the captain, walked away from the captain and the commander.  He headed toward a very frustrated Lieutenant Sooyoung and the tearful Ensign Eunhyuk, who was currently in the body of Commander Yoochun.   “His voice is truly beautiful.”

 

“It is,” Eunhyuk agreed.  “It’s very soothing.  Amazingly, he didn’t even know he could sing until he was in the academy.”

 

Dr. Jin looked genuinely surprised.  “Really?”

 

Eunhyuk turned and looked back at the commander.  “He joined the chorus at the academy to be close to Ryeowook and surprised everyone, but no one more than himself.”

 

Jin looked back at the captain and the commander with the golden voice.  “I am glad he stayed for the captain.  It won’t be long.”

 

“How long?”  Ensign Eunhyuk asked wiping away tears.

 

“An hour maybe,” Dr. Jin told the other man.  “An hour at the longest; if it was anyone but him I’d say minutes, but he’s so strong.”

 

“Damn!  Damn!  Damn!”  Lieutenant Sooyoung cursed, while tossing a tricorder on the ground and slapping both of her hands against the table where she had been working.  The science and engineering crewmen that had been working with her stood back, surprised by her unusual outburst.  “This is insane!  Changmin told me how to save him!  He gave me a list of the materials I would need to save him!  There has to be something I am missing!”

 

Commander Cho stopped singing, got up and walked over to the distraught lieutenant.  Dr. Jin immediately walked back to the forcefield to keep watch over the captain. 

 

“It isn’t just you.  None of us can figure it out,” Commander Cho reminded her.  “It isn’t your fault.”

 

“It doesn’t make any sense!” Lieutenant Sooyoung declared, looking like she wanted to scream.  “He wouldn’t have been wrong about this, but none of the devices we have made from the materials work…the lasers are unstable.  It isn’t logical, and he was always logical!”

 

“No he wasn’t,” Ensign Eunhyuk said correcting her.

 

“Yes, he was…”  Lieutenant Sooyoung started to say but paused and repeated words spoken to her long ago by her cousin, _“At first he was Yunho’s son and then he was Jaejoong’s son…You simply do not understand…because you only knew him as Yunho’s son…To me…he is yours when he is logical and handsome, but when he is Jaejoong’s son…he is passionate and beautiful and this is when he is mine…_ Sulli said that to me once. _”_

Ensign Eunhyuk nodded his head in agreement.  “Changmin wasn’t logical when he was a Joong.”

 

“The Joong version of Changmin came back in time to tell _Yunho’s Changmin_ how to save them...but _Yunho’s Changmin_ didn’t remember the details until the last moment…he didn’t have time to test the materials—that _Jaejoong’s Changmin_ told him he would need.  _Jaejoong’s Changmin_ that was passionate…but not logical,” Commander Cho reasoned aloud.

 

“A pink necklace with no special properties that we can detect can block telepathy,” Lieutenant Sooyoung stated, suddenly looking excited.

 

“Ordinary pink stones can transfer souls across time and space,” Commander Cho added, also looking excited.

 

“And a decorative dagger that can destroy a star ship with the smallest of cuts!”  Commander Yoochun screamed out.  “Fuck!  We have to make it fast!”

 

Lieutenant Sooyoung, who was already grabbing supplies, yelled out, “Please tell me you are the real Commander Yoochun because I am going to need him!”

 

“I’m back,” Commander Yoochun shouted as he went to work and started yelling out orders for the rest of the crew including Commander Cho.

 

Dr. Jin looked down at the captain and whispered, “Just try to hold on a little longer.”

 

 

                                            ****************************************

 

“I’m back,” Ensign Eunhyuk stated as he suddenly found himself aboard the Expectations.

 

“Indeed, you are,” Lieutenant Kim confirmed.  “Lieutenant Junsu’s expert piloting was no longer required, and out of respect for the captain and Commander Yoochun’s long friendship he requested that the link be terminated.”

 

Eunhyuk smiled proudly and repeated, “Lieutenant Junsu?”

 

“Yeah,” Ensign L replied with a big grin.  “And he totally deserved the promotion for his magnificent flying skills.”

 

“Wow,” Ensign Eunhyuk declared.  “At least there is some good news on this shittiest of shitty days.”

 

“Lieutenant Kim, we have reached the rendezvous location,” Ensign L stated from the helm, while nodding his head in agreement with the other ensign sentiments.  “The shuttle is only showing five life signs.”

 

“Good!  Have them beam the crew aboard as soon as I reach the transporter room.  Then I want the ship to latch onto the shuttle with a tractor beam,” Lieutenant Kim stated as he stood up headed toward the lift.  “We will reach the planet in just a few minutes and then we can dock the shuttle after we confirm the Joong did not manipulate them into fooling the censors.  Ensign Eunhyuk, you have the bridge.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Ensign Eunhyuk stated as got up and took the captain’s chair as Lieutenant Kim entered the lift and headed for the transporter room.

 

Moments later Lieutenant Kim entered the Transporter Room and ordered, “Lieutenant Donghae, let’s beam them back aboard.”

 

“Hopefully, minus the Joong,” Lieutenant Donghae stated as he beamed the away team back on board the ship.

 

 Lieutenant Kim let out a sigh of relief as the team arrived without the Joong. “Lieutenant Sunggyu, I hereby relinquish command of the ship to you.”

 

“Lieutenant Kim, I am thinking my time might be best spent in engineering,” Lieutenant Sunggyu stated, immediately noticing that something was off with the ship. “I can tell the engines are not even close to running at their normal efficiency.”

 

“That is very true,” Lieutenant Kim confirmed.  “They are down to 55% efficiency.  We have traveled at warp 9.5 and it has proved to be very taxing on the engines.”

 

Sunggyu looked truly taken aback.  “Then I _have_ to go to engineering.”

 

“You and I are the highest-ranking command officers aboard the ship.  You can command the ship from engineering if that is what you wish,” Lieutenant Kim replied.  “I have to take the child back in time and deliver him to the captain’s parents.  I am not sure when or if I will return.”

 

Ensign Kangin stepped down from the platform.  “Isn’t that Lieutenant Sooyoung’s job?”

 

“The captain wished to change time in this instance,” Lieutenant Kim explained.  “He wished to give Lieutenant Sooyoung extra time to solve the problem of the _Animam Tuam Praedo.”_

 

Dr. Nam looked saddened.  “I am assuming it didn’t work.”

 

“No,” Dr. Cho stated as he entered the transporter room with the sleeping Changmin. 

 

“Communication is limited due to the interference from the ion storms, but their attempts to dismantle the _Animam Tuam Praedo_ had proven to be futile at our last contact,” Lieutenant Kim stated as he turned to face the doctor.  “Where is Jaejoong?”

 

“He refused to come with me,” Dr. Cho explained, looking disheartened.  “He wouldn’t even talk to me…he was completely obtunded.”

 

“Lieutenant Kim,” Ensign Eunhyuk’s voice stated over the combadge.  “We have reached the planet with the Guardian.”

 

Namjoon tapped his combadge and replied, “Understood.”

 

Ensign Kangin walked up to the doctor and gently ruffled the sleeping child’s hair.  “How are you supposed to get the Guardian to send him back in time if Jaejoong isn’t cooperating?”

 

“We will just have to ask it,” Dr. Cho replied trying to sound confident.  “I promised Yunho I would see Changmin sent back in time and I intend to keep my promise.”

 

“The Guardians are intelligent beings, not just machines,” Lieutenant Sunggyu stated assuredly.  “I am sure they will understand the circumstances and do what is best.”

 

“But luckily we won’t have to be dependent on their mercy,” Lieutenant Donghae stated from behind the transporter controls. “Jaejoong just had me beam him down to the planet.”

 

Dr. Cho sighed in relief and stepped up on the transporter platform.  “Let’s get this terrible business over with.”

 

“Indeed,” Lieutenant Kim agreed as he stepped up beside the doctor.  “We have no time to spare.”

 

Lieutenant Sunggyu nodded his head and turned to face Transporter Chief.  “Lieutenant Donghae, beam them directly to the Guardian.”

 

Dr. Nam walked up to Ensign Kangin, who looked heartbroken and wrapped an arm around him.  “We made it here, so the captain’s last wish will be granted.”

 

Kangin closed his eyes and struggled to hold back his tears.  “First Heechul and now…Yunho, damn; the universe just keeps getting dimmer and dimmer.”

 

 

                                       ***************************************

 

 

Sparkly moons of purple and gold shone down on him like little suns.

 

Jaejoong stared at the twin moons that had haunted his dreams for so many years, but he no longer feared them…they were a promise of the end; an end to the immense feeling of loss and excruciating pain he felt crippled by.  The unbearable pain of losing his bond with Changmin and knowing his beloved Yunho was slowly dying but trying so desperately to hold on so this last act could be completed.

 

He called upon the ancient power of his blood and pulled himself up from the ground and looked upon the Guardian of Time that would send the child he had once loved so dearly to the safety of the past.  Yunho was dying but death would have to come after…after Changmin was safe in the arms of the past.

 

He felt them when they arrived, but kept his eyes locked on the Guardian of Time.  “Ryeowook, time is not something to be trifled with.”

 

“No, but I wanted to be here…” the doctor explained as he came into view holding the sleeping child; beside him was Lieutenant Kim.

 

“Where is _that woman_?”  Jaejoong demanded, feeling an odd sense of betrayal.

 

The man, whose mind was as closed to Jaejoong as the woman’s explained.  “It was the captain’s orders that Lieutenant Sooyoung stay with him and I take Changmin to his grandparents.”  


“Lieutenant Kim,” Jaejoong sneered.  “You are supposed to be a rule follower, surely you know the dangers that can result from changing the timeline.”

 

“I do.”

 

“And yet you did it?”

 

Lieutenant Kim nodded his head and stated honestly, “It was the captain’s last order and I chose to follow it, as I did all his orders.”

 

Jaejoong stared at the young man and even without telepathy he knew he spoke the truth; some debts ran deep and some loyalty was absolute.   He looked away from the lieutenant to stare at the child Ryeowook was holding. 

 

“It will be okay,” Ryeowook whispered and then immediately corrected, “No, this isn’t right…but once Changmin is in the past then we will have done all we could.”

 

Jaejoong felt the child awaken; quickly turning his focus back on the Guardian, he played his part by calling out, “Guardian, I have brought you my son. I wish for you…”

  
  
“I know all that has ever been, and all that will ever be,” a deep voice boomed as the Guardian activated. “Bring me your son, and I will see him delivered to his father.”

 

“And that…will be enough to save him?”

  
  
“You have witnessed the proof of this,” the voice chided loudly.

 

Ryeowook handed Changmin over to Lieutenant Kim, then walked over to Jaejoong and took him by the arm.  “There are things you need to tell Changmin.”

 

Jaejoong ignored the doctor as he listened to the lieutenant tell the attentive child, “Lieutenant Sooyoung is still alive, so do not give up the search for her.” 

 

Jaejoong closed his eyes and fought back tears; of course Lieutenant Jung’s memory of this moment is what let the ship know the missing woman was alive.

 

“Jaejoong,” Ryeowook chastised.  “You have to tell him goodbye and that you love him…so in the future he will know.”

 

Jaejoong nodded his head, opened his eyes and watched as Lieutenant Kim walked closer with the child.  The child, who was wide-eyed and gazing up at the moons in wonder.  The child…that has been his son.  The child that felt no more for Jaejoong than he did Ryeowook or Lieutenant Kim. 

 

Jaejoong felt nothing but sadness and despair but knew someday the man the child would become would recall what happened here on this awful and most dreadful of days. 

 

Jaejoong reached out and took the small hand of the child he had given birth to and spoke in a voice filled with pain, “I will finish breaking the small shred of our bond that still exists the instant before you enter the Guardian.  You will grow up with Yunho and you will be much loved.  Someday in your future we will meet again—you will feel nothing for me and I will feel nothing for you…just like now, but it wasn’t always that way.  You were once my world, along with your brave father that clings to life so we can save you.  My love for you was so strong and the breaking of our bond has destroyed me in ways I did not know I could be destroyed.”

 

“Jaejoong…” Ryeowook cried out.  “I wish there was another way.  
  


“There isn’t!”  Jaejoong gasped and then ordered, “Go now!  Yunho is dying!”

 

Ryeowook watched as Lieutenant Kim, who was holding Changmin, raced toward the Guardian of Time.  He watched as they both were engulfed by the crystal blue waters and as Jaejoong broke his last link to Changmin. 

 

The guardian closed and Jaejoong collapsed to the ground, welcoming death.

 

 

                                                               *********************

 

_There was a bright light._

_There was the promise of many tomorrows._

_There was love beyond the light beckoning him to come closer._

_He knew that love; he had felt that love…for countless lifetimes._

_He was in an ocean of crystal blue waters, but he did not lack for air and the waves did not sweep him away._

_He stood on the sandy floor of the ocean.  His dying body moved with ease as he walked toward the light and the promise of Jaejoong’s everlasting love._

_The remorse and sorrow he had felt at the ending of this life was gone as he moved closer to the light._

_This life would end and a new one would begin, and he felt at peace._

_“Are you sure you feel at peace?”_

_Yunho stopped as the sound of an old friend’s voice jarred him from his sense of tranquility.  “Heechul?”_

_“Yes, but I can’t interfere.”_

_“Interfere?”_

_“With the whole dying thing.  I got scolded badly for the last time I interfered.  They threatened to turn me into an amoeba if I interfered again.”_

_Yunho turned and looked through the waters for his friend.   “The last time?”_

_Heechul suddenly appeared in front of Yunho as a mermaid with a pink tail, pink seashells covering his breasts, and long black hair.  “How soon you forget!  Remember when you thought I was a God?  Ringing any bells?”_

_“Yes!”  Yunho exclaimed, while doing a double take as he looked at his friend in his mermaid form.  “That was you!  I knew it was you!”_

_“You were right,” Heechul said with a big grin as he ran his hand through the long dark hair that flowed behind him in the water._

_“Are you a mermaid?”_

_“No, I just like to match my surroundings,” Heechul explained.  “I can be whatever I want to be, but I can’t interfere with you being all at peace with dying.”_

_Yunho turned his head to look back at the light and frowned.  “I wouldn’t be at peace with dying.”_

_“Well, not the Captain Yunho I knew and adored.  He’d be pissed and clinging to his existence.”_

_“I was feeling Jaejoong…he’s at peace with dying.”_

_Heechul held up his hands, flipped his tail and declared, “I’m not interfering; I just came to say goodbye.”_

_“I don’t want to die,” Yunho stated defiantly.  “I have a ship, a crew, and I have a family.  My crew is still trying to save me…I can’t be strolling toward the light while they are struggling to save me.”_

_Heechul grinned.  “Now_ that _is the Yunho I adore.”_

_Yunho looked horrified.  “Jaejoong was calling for me and I almost gave up—thank God you appeared.”_

_“Or you could just thank Heechul—although I didn’t interfere, so no need for me to experience life as an amoeba.”_

_The water around Yunho started receding.  “You would make a_ great _amoeba.”_

_“Well, that goes without saying, but what fun would that be?”_

_Yunho sat down as he started feeling the weight of his true condition return.  “I just have to keep holding on…I have to give them time to save me.”_

_Heechul’s tail vanished and in his blue uniform he looked every bit the Starfleet Doctor he had been when he was alive.  “Your crew did figure out the answer to the conundrum, and they have broken through the Animam Tuam Praedo.”_

_“They saved me?”  Yunho asked as the last of the water disappeared._

_Heechul knelt beside his friend and took his hand.  “They did.  But you have suffered serious injuries; you must avoid the light, no matter how tempting Jaejoong makes it.  You and Jaejoong share a great love…but there is so much more to you than the love you two share.  You are fighter, friend, father, brother, and a leader of men._ You have a million reasons to go on living.

_Yunho clung to Heechul’s hand and concentrated on all the reasons he had to go on living and not the peace death was promising him._

_**********************_

Ryeowook sat on the ground in front of the Guardian with Jaejoong’s head resting in his lap.   He had not contacted the ship after Lieutenant Kim left with Changmin.  

 

He had one hand pressed gently around Jaejoong’s wrist, waiting for the Joong’s pulse to completely fade away.   The breathing had almost stopped, and the doctor knew that once his friend was gone he would ask the Guardian of Time to summon Jaejoong’s family, so they could take Jaejoong back to his home world. 

 

Ryeowook knew that Yunho wanted a space burial, but for some reason he felt the Joong would want to go home.   He felt foolish for never asking Jaejoong what his wishes were…they had always known this day would come, but they had never had the necessary conversations.

 

He sat there with his dying friend, pondering all the conversations they had never had and felt the enormity of the loss of such a friend.  Jaejoong had often baffled the doctor with his way of thinking, but the doctor had always valued their friendship.

 

Time slowly passed by, but the pulse didn’t fade away, and Ryeowook knew it was Yunho’s doing, not the Joongs.  It hurt him to admit such things, but the doctor knew that Jaejoong wanted to die.  The Joong had wanted to die since he broke his bond with Changmin. 

 

He also knew it was not in the captain’s nature to slip off to the peacefulness of death…no, the captain would fight against death until the very end…fight it with the last of his will…his strong will.

 

The sound of the Guardian of Time activating stirred Ryeowook from his thoughts and he waited for Lieutenant Kim to reappear.  He was completely taken aback when Changmin emerged from the Guardian of Time looking exactly like he had before he had vanished on the day of his conception so long ago.

  
“Changmin!”  Ryeowook cried out in shock. 

 

“Doctor,” Changmin stated in a crisp voice as he approached Ryeowook and Jaejoong as if he had only been gone for a few minutes.

 

“It’s so awful!  Jaejoong’s heart just keeps on beating, but I know he wants to die.  Yunho is keeping them alive; I know it…Yunho won’t give up.”

 

Changmin knelt beside the doctor and rewarded him with a small smile.  “That is Yunho’s nature.”

 

Ryeowook met Changmin gaze and nodded his head.  “It is.”

 

Changmin, to Ryeowook’s surprise, gently picked up Jaejoong and cradled him in front of him. 

 

The stunned doctor watched as the science officer walked toward the Guardian that had remained activated and instructed it, “Take me to my father.”

 

And then without a word of goodbye Changmin disappeared with Jaejoong through the ancient time portal.

 

                                             *****************************************

 

Dr. Jin had been working frantically on the captain since Commander Yoochun had impaled the forcefield surrounding the captain with the dagger they had made.  Once the dagger had hit the forcefield the barrier had turned blue and quickly dissolved, freeing the captain.

 

Yoochun knelt by his wounded friend, held his limp hand, and watched while the doctor fought to save his life.   Commander Cho and Lieutenant Sooyoung stood behind the engineer waiting anxiously.  The rest of the crew on the planet all stood back, awaiting word from the doctor.

 

“His condition is starting to stabilize,” the doctor told them while not looking up from his patient.  “It’s still too close to call, but he’s a fighter.”

 

“That he is,” Commander Cho whispered as he sent a silent prayer out to the universe.

 

They all watched in silence; minutes passed as Dr. Jin continued to work desperately to heal the captain’s damaged body, starting with his heart that had suffered immense muscle damage.

 

Lieutenant Sooyoung grabbed Commander Cho by the arm excitedly and exclaimed, “His color is improving.

 

“Heeee……lllll,” Yunho softly mumbled incoherently.

 

Yoochun shared a concerned look with Dr. Jin before leaning forward and asking his friend, “Yunho, what did you say?”

 

“Heee…ccccccchuuuuul,” was Yunho’s weak response.

 

“Heechul?”  Yoochun repeated and let out a laugh.  “I don’t blame you for wanting Heechul at a time like this, but Dr. Jin seems to be doing a fine job.”

 

“Doctor,” Commander Cho asked, unable control his excitement.  “He’s getting better, right?”

 

“He is,” Dr. Jin stated confidently.  “The cellular rejuvenation process is in progress and his heart is beating on its own accord, but the distance from his mate is still taxing his system.”

 

“Then it seems I have the answer to that one particular medical dilemma,” Changmin’s voice stated calmly.

 

“Changmin!”  Yoochun, Kyuhyun, and Sooyoung all shouted in surprise as they quickly swung around to look at the science officer approaching with Jaejoong in his arms.

 

“While our medical technology is quite advanced, the healing abilities of the Joongs are far superior,” Changmin informed the doctor as he gently laid Jaejoong down next to Yunho, making sure the bonded pair were touching while the others watched in stunned disbelief. 

 

Changmin took Yunho’s hand that Yoochun wasn’t clasping and added, “As his son, I can also aid in his recovery but not nearly to the extent that Jaejoong can.”

 

“Changmin…when did you get back?”  Commander Cho sputtered still in shock.

 

“I am not certain of the exact time frame due the Guardian of Time’s ability to alter time.  I reappeared on the planet Eternity where I last remembered being.  I then promptly asked the Guardian of Time to take me to Jaejoong and it did so.   Once I collected Jaejoong I requested it take us to Yunho and as you can ascertain for yourself it did so most helpfully.”

 

Dr. Jin, who was examining his medical tricorder called out in astonishment, “It’s miraculous—there is no other word to describe it.  He’s not only going to live…he’s going to make a full recovery!”

 

Commander Cho and Lieutenant Sooyoung, who were both overcome with relief, embraced each other while crying and laughing at the same time.  The crew behind them whooped and hollered in joy.

 

Commander Yoochun looked at Changmin, grinned and told him, “You really are my favorite robot.”

 

Changmin arched his left eyebrow and replied in his most emotionless tone of voice, “While I am capable of carrying out a series of complex actions all at the same time, as the Chief Engineer of a Galaxy Class Starship you should be able to distinguish the difference between a machine and a living person.”

 

Commander Yoochun nodded his head and chuckled.  “Yes, indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All feedback is greatly appreciated! If you want future adventures be sure to hit the kudus bottom! 
> 
> Thanks to all the readers, who have stuck with me through the years!!! Kudos to you!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> All feedback is welcome! Kudos, recs, and all comments(positive and constructive) are greatly appreciated!


End file.
